tr"  Si't 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 


PRISONERS 
OF  THE  GREAT  WAR 

AUTHORITATIVE  STATEMENT 

OF  CONDITIONS  IN  THE  PRISON 

CAMPS  OF  GERMANY 

BY 

CARL   P.  DENNETT 

AMERICAN   RED  CROSS  DEPUTY  COMMISSIONER  TO  SWITZERLAND 

IN     CHARGE     OF    FINDING,      FEEDING,    CLOTHING    AND 

OTHERWISE  CARING  FOR  AMERICAN  PRISONERS 

IN  GERMAN   PRISON  CAMPS 


BOSTON   AND    NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
fiiter£it>e  jSrerfrf  Cambridge 
1919 


COPYRIGHT,   1919,   BY  HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN   COMPANY 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


DEDICATED  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 


4285bl) 


Contents 

I.    RETURNING  PRISONERS  I 

II.   SUFFERING  IN  GERMAN  CAMPS  13 

III.  FINDING  THE  PRISONERS  22 

IV.  FOOD  AND  CLOTHING  28 
V.   WHEN  A  PRISONER  is  CAPTURED  35 

VI.   LIVING  CONDITIONS  48 

VII.   REPORTS  BY  NEUTRAL  DELEGATES  56 

VIII.   ESCAPES  95 

IX.    HUMAN  WRECKAGE  145 

X.   APPRECIATION  153 

XI.   AGREEMENTS  AND  TREATIES  164 

XII.   ABUSES  201 

XIII.   CONCLUSION  226 


Illustrations 

A  "  COOTIE  HUNT'*  AT  MUNSTER  Frontispiece 

AMERICAN  PRISONER  TRAIN  PASSING  THROUGH  BERNE  EN 

ROUTE  TO  FRANCE  2 

AN  EAST-INDIAN  PRISONER  6 

AMERICAN  CAMP  HELP  COMMITTEE  AT  BRANDENBURG  10 

IN  FRONT  OF  U.S.  MILITARY  ATTACHE'S  OFFICE,  BERNE, 
NOVEMBER,  1918  22 

Major  Carl  P.  Dennett,  Colonel  W,  F.  H.  Godson, 
Major  Ernest  Schelling,  and  Lieutenants  De  Waldt 
and  Howe 

CONTENTS  OF  FIRST  PARCEL  SENT  TO  PRISONERS  28 

"ARMY  A"  FOOD  PARCEL  (FIRST  WEEK)  30 

««ARMY  B"  FOOD  PARCEL  (THIRD  WEEK)  30 

"ARMY  C"  FOOD  PARCEL  (SECOND  WEEK)  32 

"  ARMY  D"  FOOD  PARCEL  (FOURTH  WEEK)  32 

OUTFIT  FOR  MILITARY  PRISONERS  36 

STOREHOUSE  FOR  RESERVE  SUPPLIES  AT  LAUSANNE  42 

LIVING  AND  DEAD  ITALIAN  SOLDIERS  IN  THE  PRISON  CAMP 
OF  SlGMUNDSHERBERG,  AUSTRIA  46 

ALL  PRISONERS  WERE  COMPELLED  TO  FACE  TOWARD  THE 

GERMAN  OFFICERS  IN  PASSING  50 

PARCEL  DAY  IN  A  GERMAN  PRISON  CAMP  50 

AMERICAN  PRISONERS'  BAND  AT  RASTATT  PRISON  54 
AMERICAN    PRISONERS    AT    RASTATT    PRISON    RECEIVING 

THEIR  RED  CROSS  PARCELS  54 

IX 


Illustrations 

OUTFIT  FOR  ALL  CIVILIAN  PRISONERS  58 

IN  THE  PRISON  CAMP  AT  VILLINGEN,  GERMANY  72 

Major  Sarda,  of  the  Spanish  Artillery,  Official  Rep- 
resentative of  the  United  States  Government  for  the 
Inspection  of  German  Prison  Camps ;  Major  Harry 
Brown  and  Major  Dirk  Bruins,  Prisoners  of  War 

EVERETT  BUCKLEY,  THE  FIRST   AMERICAN  PRISONER  TO 

ESCAPE  INTO  SWITZERLAND  96 

THOMAS  HITCHCOCK,  JR.,  AS  HE  APPEARED  ON  HIS  ESCAPE 

FROM  GERMANY  104 

MEMBERS  OF  RASTATT  CAMP  COMMITTEE  156 

MEMBERS  OF  RASTATT  CAMP  COMMITTEE  WHO  VOLUN- 
TEERED TO  REMAIN  BEHIND  TO  ASSIST  IN  THE  REPATRIA- 
TION OF  SICK  AND  WOUNDED  AMERICAN  PRISONERS  OF 
WAR  226 

MEDAL  STRUCK  BY  THE  GERMAN  GOVERNMENT  TO  COM- 
MEMORATE THEIR  EXPECTED  TRIUMPHAL  ENTRY  INTO 
PARIS  IN  1914  232 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 


PRISONERS 
OF  THE  GREAT  WAR 

Chapter  I 

RETURNING  PRISONERS 

UNDER  the  French  and  English  agreements 
with  Germany  it  was  provided  that  prisoners 
suffering  from  certain  classes  of  wounds  or  dis- 
eases should  be  interned  in  Switzerland  for  the 
duration  of  the  war.  Later  it  was  provided  that 
prisoners  of  a  certain  age  (forty-five  to  forty- 
eight  years),  who  had  been  in  prison  camps  for 
a  total  of  eighteen  months  or  more,  were  to 
be  exchanged  head  for  head  under  conditions 
which  prohibited  them  from  going  within  a 
certain  distance  of  the  front  during  the  war. 

As  a  result  of  these  agreements  thousands  of 
prisoners  of  war  were  interned  in  Switzerland 
or  passed  through  in  the  process  of  being  ex- 
changed. 

For  the  most  part  the  trains  of  returning 
prisoners  arrived  at  Berne  at  1.50  in  the  morn- 

i 


.pf 'the  Great  War 


ing,  and  there  were  five  hundred  to  six  hundred 
prisoners  on  each  train.  Berne  was  the  first 
stop  after  leaving  Germany,  and  the  men  were 
there  fed  and  given  fresh  clothing.  As  the 
trains  pulled  into  the  station,  the  car  windows 
were  crowded  with  eager  faces  peering  out  to 
get  their  first  glimpse  of  friends,  countrymen, 
allies.  The  disembarkation  took  place  under  the 
supervision  of  Swiss  officers,  and  the  men  lined 
up  on  the  platform  in  military  formation,  but 
informally  and  at  ease. 

The  prisoners  were  then  marched  two  hun- 
dred at  a  time  into  the  restaurant,  where  the 
authorized  relief  society,  French,  Belgian,  or 
English,  had  arranged  for  hot  coffee  and  sand- 
wiches. Each  prisoner  was  also  given  a  few 
postal  cards,  and  the  eagerness  with  which 
these  men  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  write 
home  freely  was  indeed  pathetic.  Food  was 
neglected  and  their  attention  was  completely 
absorbed  in  sending  the  first  word  for  months 

—  maybe  for  years  —  that  had   not  passed 
through  the  hands  of  the  German  camp  censor 

—  free  to  write,  free  to  tell  the  truth  —  free 
mentally  —  free  physically  —  the  circle  of  the 


Returning  Prisoners 

life  of  a  soldier  completed,  the  entire  round 
made  —  enlistment,  battle,  capture,  perhaps 
wounded,  months  or  years  in  prison,  intern- 
ment in  Switzerland,  or  repatriation,  back 
home,  never  to  fight  again,  never  to  go  within 
thirty  kilometres  of  the  zone  of  combat  during 
the  war. 

It  was  a  lurid  but  picturesque  business,  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  this  questioning 
prisoners  of  war  of  all  nationalities,  just  out  of 
their  prison  camps  —  Frenchmen,  Englishmen, 
Australians,  Canadians,  New  Zealanders,  Mo- 
roccans, Algerians,  Indians  —  all  colors  and 
shades  from  all  corners  of  the  earth. 

I  was  provided  with  the  proper  badge,  or 
brassard,  and  permitted  by  the  Swiss  guards  to 
circulate  among  them  freely  and  interview 
them.  Some  were  shy  and  reserved;  others  per- 
haps a  little  affected  mentally  by  their  impris- 
onment and  hardships;  still  others  affected 
with  barbed-wire  disease,  a  well-recognized 
form  of  neurasthenia  caused  by  confinement 
for  long  periods  in  barbed-wire  enclosures.  This 
disease  became  so  prevalent  and  well  defined 
that  men  were  freed  from  German  prison 

3 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

camps  as  unfit  for  further  military  duty  and 
interned  in  Switzerland  because  of  it. 

I  have  talked  with  many  men  on  their  first 
night  out  of  Germany  after  four  years'  impris- 
onment. A  few  cigarettes  and  some  kind  re- 
marks, confidence  won,  and  the  flood-gates  of 
memory  opened!  First  one,  then  another,  told 
an  experience,  and  as  they  found  that  I  knew 
the  camps,  the  prison  rules,  what  a  "working 
Kommando"  meant,  what  a  "reprisal  camp" 
signified,  and  what  a  "colis"  brought  to  a 
starving  man  —  they  gathered  around  eagerly. 
They  knew  that  I  understood  their  camp  lan- 
guage and  their  troubles  and  they  eagerly  told 
everything. 

Some  of  the  questions  asked  of  them  were: 
"Have  you  been  receiving  your  food  parcels 
regularly?  Did  you  have  cooking  facilities  at 
Rastatt,  Lamsdorf,  or  Mannheim?  Were  you 
given  an  opportunity  to  get  fuel  with  which  to 
cook?  What  were  your  facilities  for  sleeping? 
Your  toilet  facilities?  Did  your  mail  arrive 
regularly?  How  was  the  hospital?  Were  there 
any  Americans  in  your  camp?  How  many? 
What  condition  were  they  in?  What  do  they 

4 


Returning  Prisoners 

need?  How  many  sick  or  wounded  in  hospital? 
Did  they  send  out  any  messages  or  requests? 
Were  you  out  on  a  working  Kommando,  and 
where?  What  treatment  did  you  receive?  Were 
you  punished,  and  what  was  the  form  of  pun- 
ishment? Have  you  been  in  the  mines?" 

This  last  question  brought  out  the  heart- 
breaking experiences,  especially  from  the 
French  prisoners  —  "Have  you  been  in  the 
mines?" 

"Effroyable!  Terrible!  Vest  le  mort." 
Of  all  the  prisoners  with  whom  I  talked,  run- 
ning into  hundreds,  I  never  met  one  who  had 
any  but  horrible  recollections  of  his  work  in  the 
mines,  and  especially  the  salt  mines  —  very 
high  temperature,  crouching  positions,  abuse 
by  the  civil  miners  or  bosses,  blows,  kicks,  far 
underground  where  there  was  no  escape,  no 
hope  but  to  bear  it  and  try  to  live  through  it, 
no  restraining  influence  of  any  kind  against  the 
civil  miner  except  perhaps  a  brutal  guard.  A 
prisoner  made  a  mistake,  or  his  guard  was  ill- 
tempered,  or  the  civil  miner  (who  naturally 
did  not  like  the  prisoners  in  the  mines)  had  a  fit 
of  temper  —  then  the  poor  prisoner  was  struck, 

5 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

knocked  down  or  kicked,  and  if  he  threw  up  his 
hand  to  save  himself  and  the  motion  was  taken 
for  one  of  resistance,  God  help  him!  When  he 
went  or  was  carried  to  the  surface  and  regis- 
tered a  complaint,  he  was  told  that  it  was  a  lie. 
If  some  humanitarian  officer  took  enough  in- 
terest to  investigate,  the  civil  miners  or  guards 
would  testify  that  the  man's  bruises  were  due 
to  an  accident,  and  that  ended  it.  Of  all  work 
to  which  the  prisoners  of  war  in  Germany  were 
driven,  the  mines  were  justly  the  most  dreaded. 
The  prisoner  was  defenseless  against  men  who 
had  him  underground,  where  they  could  freely 
indulge  in  their  brutality  in  all  forms. 

Then  there  were  the  marshes,  where  men 
stood  in  water  knee  deep  all  day  long.  I  have 
authentic  reports  of  large  groups  of  men  work- 
ing in  the  open,  who  were  not  allowed  to  attend 
to  the  calls  of  nature  for  the  entire  day,  on  the 
pretext  that  a  guard  must  be  sent  with  each 
man  and  that  the  guards  could  not  be  spared. 

As  a  result  of  these  interviews,  with  return- 
ing and  escaped  prisoners,  and  with  other  pris- 
oners interned  in  Switzerland,  nearly  complete 
information  was  obtained  as  to  conditions  and 

6 


AN  EAST-INDIAN  PRISONER 


Returning  Prisoners 

treatment  in  German  prison  camps  and  on 
working  Kommandos.  As  a  further  check  we 
had  frequent  reports  from  the  Spanish  Em- 
bassy at  Berlin,  whose  representative  inspected 
at  frequent  intervals  the  camps  occupied  by 
our  men,  and  submitted  written  statements  of 
their  condition,  treatment,  and  needs. 

As  this  is  being  written,  I  have  also  just 
talked  with  the  first  contingent  of  American 
prisoners  to  come  out  of  Germany  since  the 
signing  of  the  armistice. 

That  the  reader  may  clearly  understand  the 
situation,  it  seems  desirable  to  give  the  defini- 
tion of  some  of  the  special  terms  used  in  this 
book. 

Working  Kommandos:  These  were  the  work- 
ing parties  sent  out  from  the  main  camps. 
There  might  be  many  such  Kommandos  tribu- 
tary to  a  camp,  and  they  might  consist  of  a 
number  of  men  or  only  one  man.  Single  men 
might  be  sent  out  to  work  on  a  farm,  or  in  a 
small  factory,  while  any  number  might  be  sent 
to  various  larger  factories,  or  on  large  farms,  or 
into  coal,  salt,  or  other  mines,  into  stone  quar- 
ries, or  to  work  on  the  highways  or  railways. 

7 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

The  actual  place  where  the  work  was  per- 
formed was  usually  not  stated  by  the  German 
authorities,  and  the  right  of  neutral  representa- 
tives to  visit  and  inspect  these  Kommandos 
depended  entirely  upon  circumstances,  the 
German  military  authorities  taking  the  posi- 
tion that  to  freely  give  the  right  to  investigate 
men  on  Kommandos  might  admit  delegates  to 
factories  where  trade  secrets  could  be  secured. 
The  men  on  these  Kommandos  might  be  situ- 
ated many  miles  from  the  parent  camp,  and  in 
many  instances  they  lived  under  guard  where 
they  were  employed. 

If  the  working  Kommando  consisted  of  sev- 
eral men,  it  was  usually  under  the  surveillance 
of  a  German  non-commissioned  officer  called  a 
"Feldwebel,"  who  might,  or  might  not,  be  the 
brutal  type  of  man.  There  might  be  any  num- 
ber of  guards  according  to  the  size  of  the  work- 
ing party.  The  greatest  abuses  of  prisoners 
have  occurred  on  these  Kommandos.  It  was 
not  unusual  to  have  one  prisoner  assigned  as 
assistant  on  a  farm,  in  which  case  there  was  no 
guard.  The  prisoner,  however,  was  usually 
placed  in  a  section  of  the  country  where  it  was 

8 


Returning  Prisoners 

very  difficult  to  escape.  The  treatment  of  the 
prisoner  in  these  cases  depended  almost  en- 
tirely upon  the  condition  and  disposition  of  the 
farmer  to  whom  he  was  assigned. 

These  working  Kommandos  were  always  offi- 
cially attached  to  a  camp,  and  all  mail  and  food 
parcels  were  sent  to  the  main  camp  and  for- 
warded from  there  to  the  places  where  the  pris- 
oners were  employed.  It  was  not  at  all  unusual 
to  have  30,000,  40,000,  or  50,000  prisoners  at- 
tached to  a  given  camp,  while  the  report  of  the 
neutral  delegate  on  visiting  the  camp  revealed 
not  more  than  5000  or  6000  actually  in  the 
camp  at  the  time  of  the  visit,  the  others  being 
out  on  working  Kommandos.  In  September, 
1917,  there  were  approximately  600,000  prison- 
ers of  war,  whose  address  was  given  as  Limburg 
Camp.  An  actual  inspection  of  the  camp  re- 
vealed only  2400  men.  In  other  words,  597,600 
prisoners  attached  to  the  camp  were  out  work- 
ing, and  many  of  them  must  have  been  in  the 
zone  of  the  armies. 

Camp  Help  Committees:  These  were  com- 
mittees elected  from  among  the  prisoners  them- 
selves and  varying  in  size  according  to  the  num- 

9 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ber  of  prisoners  of  that  nationality  in  the  camp. 
The  relief  societies  of  the  country  of  origin  en- 
couraged these  organizations.  In  the  case  of 
American  prisoners,  we  organized  a  camp  help 
committee  wherever  there  was  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  men.  The  province  of  these  committees 
was  to  minister  to  the  wants  and  welfare  of  their 
fellow  countrymen  in  that  particular  camp,  to 
receive  reserve  supplies  of  food  and  clothing, 
distribute  them  among  the  prisoners,  and  take 
care  of  newly  arrived  prisoners.  In  addition,  the 
committees  investigated  and  presented  com- 
plaints as  to  treatment,  and  negotiated  with 
the  camp  Kommandantur  for  improved  condi- 
tions. One  of  their  most  important  functions 
was  the  forwarding  of  food,  clothing,  and  mail 
to  other  prisoners  attached  to  their  camp  who 
might  be  out  on  working  Kommandos.  The 
prison  authorities  assigned  storerooms  to  the 
camp  help  committees  for  the  storage  of  reserve 
food  and  clothing  supplies.  These  committees 
reported  direct  to  the  relief  societies  of  their 
country  of  origin,  requisitioning  new  supplies 
as  needed,  anticipating  their  requirements  in  so 
far  as  possible,  to  guard  against  any  prospective 

10 


AMERICAN  CAMP  HELP  COMMITTEE  AT  BRANDENBURG 

Chief  Gunner's  Mate  James  Delaney,  President  of  the  Committee,  in  Chief  Petty 
Officer's  Uniform.  This  picture  was  taken  in  the  Prison  Camp 


Returning  Prisoners 

need  of  their  fellow  prisoners,  and  estimating  the 
needs  for  new  arrivals. 

Colis:  This  was  the  common  name  for  the 
packages  of  food  and  clothing  which  were  sent 
to  prisoners  of  war,  and  originated  with  the 
French.  It  is  the  French  word  for  "package." 

Reprisal  Camps:  These  were  camps  in  which 
prisoners  were  placed  in  reprisal  for  some  pre- 
sumed offense  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  govern- 
ment. The  prisoners  who  were  sent  to  these 
camps  were  usually  perfectly  innocent  of  any 
offense,  being  selected  at  random  and  sub- 
jected to  the  most  abominable  conditions  for 
real  or  supposed  offenses  with  which  they  had 
no  connection,  and  over  which  they  had  no 
control.  It  was  a  hideous  form  of  abuse,  well 
known  to  and  sanctioned  by  the  German  mili- 
tary authorities. 

Kommandantur:  The  title  of  the  representa- 
tive of  the  German  Government  in  charge  of  a 
prison  camp.  He  was  almost  invariably  an  offi- 
cer of  high  rank  in  the  German  Army,  a  major 
or  colonel.  Many  of  them  were  brutal  and  took 
no  steps  to  prevent  abuse  of  prisoners  by  under- 
officers.  Some  even  encouraged  abuse.  The 

ii 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Kommandantur  was  the  supreme  power  in  the 
camp,  and  it  lay  in  his  power  to  make  camp 
conditions  excellent  or  otherwise,  and  to  safe- 
guard the  physical  condition  and  treatment  of 
the  prisoners.  If  the  guilty  are  brought  to  jus- 
tice, some  of  these  Kommandanturs  would 
doubtless  receive  the  same  treatment  accorded 
the  commander  of  Andersonville  Prison  after 
our  Civil  War.  He  was  tried  for  his  brutality 
and  hanged,  a  good  precedent  to  follow  with 
men  who  permitted  brutality,  starvation,  and 
neglect  of  absolutely  helpless  men. 


Chapter  II 

SUFFERING  IN  GERMAN  CAMPS 

NEVER  before  in  the  history  of  mankind  have 
such  conditions  existed  with  reference  to  pris- 
oners as  in  the  great  world  war. 

From  time  immemorial  it  has  been  the  cus- 
tom of  the  captor  state  to  provide  food  and 
clothing  for  its  prisoners  of  war.  Germany, 
however,  notoriously  failed  to  even  provide 
them  with  the  necessities  of  life,  and  it  is  a  fact 
beyond  dispute  that  the  ravages  of  disease,  in- 
cluding tuberculosis,  due  to  malnutrition,  and 
even  starvation,  have  killed  tens  of  thousands 
of  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  German  mili- 
tary forces.  Other  thousands  have  been  in- 
terned in  Switzerland,  or  repatriated  in  their 
homes,  human  wrecks  as  the  result  of  the  fail- 
ure of  the  German  Government  to  properly 
feed  and  clothe  them.  Neither  treaty  nor  hu- 
manitarian consideration  induced  the  German 
Government  to  treat  its  prisoners  of  war  as  hu- 
man beings,  or  make  much  effort  to  preserve 
their  lives. 

13 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Prisoners  told  me  of  witnessing  actual  com- 
bats between  starving  men  for  a  piece  of  bread 
or  other  morsel  of  food.  The  principal  victims 
of  this  abuse  were  the  Russians,  Italians,  and 
Roumanians,  although  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  war  the  English  and  French  also  suffered 
somewhat  for  lack  of  food  and  clothing. 

Gradually  the  Allied  Governments  devised 
means  for  getting  supplies  to  these  needy  pris- 
oners. English  prisoners  received  their  supplies 
from  the  Central  Prisoners  of  War  Committee 
at  London,  which  had  relief  depots  at  Berne 
and  Copenhagen.  French  prisoners  were  sup- 
plied by  various  relief  bureaus  in  Switzerland 
and  France.  The  French  prisoner  was  com- 
pelled to  pay  for  his  food  if  he  or  his  friends 
were  able  to  do  so,  and  he  might  order  packages 
varying  in  cost  from  one  franc  to  eleven  francs. 
He  might  even  have  a  bottle  of  wine  includ- 
ed, and  frequently  did,  with  such  delicacies  as 
potted  chicken  and  pates  of  various  kinds,  if 
he  had  the  money  to  pay.  These  parcels  were 
shipped  principally  by  the  Bureau  de  Secours 
aux  Prisonniers  de  Guerre,  Section  Franco- 
Beige  at  Berne.  If  a  French  prisoner  could  not 


Suffering  in  German  Camps 

pay  for  his  food  and  had  no  friends  who  would 
do  it  for  him,  he  was  known  as  one  of  the  "Ne- 
cessiteaux"  and  referred  to  one  of  a  number  of 
relief  bureaus  which  sent  him  enough  sustain- 
ing food  to  carry  him  along  comfortably. 

When  the  American  Government  sent  its 
troops  to  France  in  1917,  the  American  Red 
Cross  promptly  realized  the  necessity  for  action 
and  took  immediate  steps  to  see  that  no  Ameri- 
can prisoner  of  war  should  suffer  for  lack  of 
food  or  clothing.  They  communicated  with 
Ellis  Loring  Dresel,  who  had  been  associated 
with  Ambassador  Gerard  in  the  American  Em- 
bassy at  Berlin,  and  who  was  then  in  Switzer- 
land, and  asked  him  to  look  after  the  prisoners 
pending  definite  arrangements.  Owing  to  the 
visits  that  Mr.  Dresel  had  made  to  the  prison 
camps  in  Germany  before  the  United  States 
entered  the  war,  he  had  a  good  working  knowl- 
edge of  the  situation.  He  leased  a  storeroom  at 
Bumpliz,  a  suburb  of  Berne,  and  the  American 
Red  Cross  sent  over  Mr.  W.  W.  Husband, 
formerly  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Immi- 
gration Commission  in  Washington,  and  Mr. 
Ralph  E.  Bailey,  who  had  been  Secretary  of  the 

15 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Groton  School,  to  assist  Mr.  Dresel.  These  men 
took  charge  of  supplies  sent  by  the  American 
Red  Cross  to  provide  for  the  immediate  situa- 
tion. It  was  in  November,  1917,  that  the  first 
food  parcel  was  shipped  to  the  American  mili- 
tary prisoners  in  Germany. 

In  April,  1918, 1  was  requested  by  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  to  go  to  Switzerland  to  take 
charge  of  this  work  and  pave  the  way  for  a  Red 
Cross  Commission  to  Switzerland.  I  immedi- 
ately went  to  Washington  to  investigate,  and 
found  that  the  United  States  Government  had 
constituted  the  American  Red  Cross  its  author- 
ized agent  to  locate  and  provide  for  Ameri- 
can prisoners,  that  large  numbers  of  American 
troops  were  being  sent  abroad,  and  that  it  was 
imperative  that  immediate  preparations  be 
made  on  a  large  scale  to  provide  for  any  proba- 
ble number  of  prisoners;  that  quicker  means  of 
communication  were  required  to  find  the  pris- 
oners promptly  in  Germany,  get  food  and 
clothing  to  them,  and  advise  the  United  States 
Government  and  the  families  of  the  prisoners 
of  their  whereabouts  and  condition.  I  sailed  for 
Switzerland  four  days  later,  accompanied  by 

16 


Suffering  in  German  Camps 

Mr.  Athol  McBean,  of  San  Francisco,  who  was 
to  take  charge  of  warehouses,  supplies,  and 
transportation. 

The  American  Red  Cross  Commission  to 
Switzerland  was  duly  authorized  by  the  Swiss 
Government  about  two  months  after  my  arrival 
in  Switzerland,  and  consisted  of 

J.  B.  Dimmick,  of  Scran  ton,  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Alfred  Worcester,  of  Waltham,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Ralph  Stewart,  Esq.,  of  Brookline,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Athol  McBean,  of  San  Francisco,  California. 

Carl  P.  Dennett,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

No  attempt  is  made  in  this  book  to  describe 
the  whole  work  of  the  commission,  but  only  so 
much  as  applies  to  prisoners  of  war. 

The  work  of  the  commission  covered  a  broad 
field  of  activities  other  than  the  work  for  pris- 
oners of  war,  which  was  my  particular  depart- 
ment. There  was  also  the  Relief  for  Italian 
Prisoners  and  Serbian  Prisoners,  Civilian  Re- 
lief, Refugee  Relief,  Belgian  Children,  Training 
Schools  for  Interned  Prisoners,  and  other  simi- 
lar activities  which  were  divided  among  the 

17 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

other  members  of  the  commission  by  depart- 
ments. 

The  constructive  work  accomplished  by  my 
associates  was  of  the  greatest  importance  in 
their  various  departments,  as  was  also  their 
cooperation  and  help  in  my  work. 

After  the  armistice  Mr.  Ralph  Stewart  took 
over  the  supervision  of  the  important  work  of 
repatriation  of  prisoners,  and  it  was  due  to  his 
direction  that  the  American  prisoners  were  so 
promptly  and  comfortably  returned  to  France. 

Dr.  Alfred  Worcester's  efficient  and  self-sac- 
rificing work  in  Switzerland  was  of  the  highest 
importance,  especially  to  the  Italian  prisoners, 
the  French  and  Belgian  prisoners,  the  civilian 
refugees,  and  the  tubercular  Serbian  officers. 
Mr.  McBean  gave  very  valuable  assistance  in 
building  up  the  system  of  warehouses  and 
supplies.  Mr.  Dimmick,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Commission,  and  as  a  representative  on  the 
Prisoner  of  War  Conference,  aided  materially 
with  his  constructive  advice  and  counsel. 

On  our  arrival  at  Berne,  Major  Carl  Taylor, 
of  the  American  Red  Cross  at  Paris,  was  tempo- 
rarily in  charge.  There  were  at  this  time  211 

18 


Suffering  in  German  Camps 

American  prisoners  in  Germany,  of  whom  113 
were  civilians,  n  naval,  and  87  military. 

A  thorough  study  of  the  situation  developed 
that  it  was  not  only  a  question  of  food  and 
clothing,  but  that  the  American  prisoners  in 
Germany  required  everything  else  necessary 
to  sustain  life  as  human  beings.  This  meant 
such  articles  as  soap,  towels,  needles,  thread, 
buttons,  pins,  razors,  hair-brushes,  combs,  scis- 
sors, tooth-brushes,  shaving-soap,  tooth-paste 
and  powder  —  in  fact,  all  food  and  clothing  as 
well  as  every  essential  toilet  article. 

At  that  time  the  German  Government  was 
giving  the  prisoners  a  very  small  quantity,  two 
hundred  grammes  per  day,  of .  dark,  soggy- 
bread,  coffee  made  of  toasted  acorns  or  chest- 
nuts, thin,  watery  soups,  very  few  vegetables 
and  practically  no  meat.  This  ration  was  en- 
tirely inadequate  to  sustain  life,  and  prisoners 
of  other  nationalities  who  were  not  receiving 
food  parcels  were  dying  of  starvation.  Ameri- 
can, French,  and  English  prisoners  were  unable 
to  eat  the  food  provided  by  the  Germans.  I 
cabled  Washington  for  supplies  sufficient  to 
provide  for  10,000  American  prisoners  for  a 

19 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

period  of  six  months  and  then  immediately 
started  to  create  an  organization  sufficient  to 
provide  for  any  number  of  American  prisoners 
likely  to  be  captured.  , 

In  July,  1918, 1  was  informed  that  there  were 
more  than  a  million  American  soldiers  in 
France,  and  that  another  million  were  coming 
over  at  once.  Steps  were  immediately  taken  to 
provide  for  a  total  of  50,000  prisoners.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  with  General  Rogers,  the 
Chief  Quartermaster  of  the  A.E.F.  in  France, 
to  furnish  all  the  food  and  clothing  necessary 
from  his  stocks  there,  the  American  Red  Cross 
to  furnish  certain  luxuries  for  the  military  pris- 
oners and  everything  required  for  the  civilian 
prisoners. 

Some  200,000  packing-boxes  for  food  were 
obtained,  and  an  option  taken  on  a  still  further 
supply.  A  second  storehouse  was  rented  at 
Bumpliz,  and  two  more  were  built.  A  large 
storehouse  was  also  rented  in  the  suburbs  of 
Lausanne,  at  Renens,  and  an  addition  built  so 
that  ten  loaded  freight  cars  could  be  run  on  the 
inside  at  one  time  for  loading  or  unloading.  An- 
other large  storehouse  was  rented  at  Kehrsatz, 

20 


Suffering  in  German  Camps 

another  suburb  of  Berne,  and  was  devoted  to 
the  storage  of  clothing,  blankets,  and  miscel- 
laneous articles.  Still  another  storehouse  was 
arranged  for  at  Copenhagen,  to  provide  against 
any  interruption  to  traffic  or  lack  of  railroad 
equipment  in  Switzerland. 


Chapter  III 

FINDING  THE  PRISONERS 

THE  principal  source  of  information  as  to 
American  prisoners  in  Germany  was  through 
prison  lists  transmitted  by  the  German  Minis- 
ter of  War  to  the  Berlin  Red  Cross.  These  lists 
were  then  sent  by  the  Berlin  Red  Cross  to  the 
International  Red  Cross  at  Geneva,  and  by  the 
latter  to  the  American  Red  Cross  at  Berne. 
This  was  a  very  roundabout  method.  The  Ber- 
lin War  Office  was  notoriously  slow  in  supply- 
ing the  information,  and  the  prison  lists  were 
inaccurate,  with  names  misspelled,  and  many 
missing.  They  frequently  gave  men  as  located 
at  camps  from  which  they  had  long  since  been 
removed.  These  official  German  prisoner  lists 
were  a  disgraceful  exhibition  of  German  ineffi- 
ciency. 

The  American  Expeditionary  Forces  had  no 
German  prisoners  on  June  I,  1918,  having 
turned  them  all  over  to  the  French  military 
forces.  This  was  a  distinct  disadvantage  in  ob- 

22 


IN  FRONT  OF  U.S.  MILITARY  ATTACHE'S  OFFICE,  BERNE 
NOVEMBER,   1918 

Left  to  right,  front  row:  Major  Carl  P.  Dennett,  in  charge  of  Department  of 

Prisoners  of  War,  American  Red  Cross;  Colonel  W.  F.  H.  Godson,  U.S.  Military 

Attache;  Major  Ernest  Schelling.  In  rear:  Lieutenants  De  Waldt 

and  Howe,  office  of  Military  Attache 


Finding  the  Prisoners 

taining  information  on  a  reciprocity  basis.  I 
went  to  General  Headquarters  of  the  A.E.F.  in 
France,  with  Colonel  W.  F.  H.  Godson,  the 
Military  Attache  at  Berne,  and  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  proposed  to  have  a  con- 
ference between  representatives  of  the  German 
Government  and  the  United  States  regarding 
prisoners  of  war;  that  the  American  forces  had 
no  German  prisoners  of  war,  and  that  it  would 
also  be  a  great  advantage  in  getting  informa- 
tion about  American  prisoners,  if  the  German 
prisoners  could  be  retained  after  capture  in- 
stead of  being  turned  over  to  the  French  forces 
as  heretofore. 

Immediate  action  was  taken  on  this  sugges- 
tion, and  within  a  few  weeks  the  American 
military  forces  reported  more  than  2000  Ger- 
man prisoners,  and  within  four  months,  more 
than  37,000  German  prisoners,  in  their  posses- 
sion. I  then  arranged  with  General  Headquar- 
ters of  the  A.E.F.  in  France  to  supply  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  at  Berne  exclusive  lists  of 
all  German  prisoners  captured  by  the  American 
Army.  This  placed  us  in  a  very  strong  position 
to  demand  reciprocity  from  the  Germans  for 

23 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

all  forms  of  information  furnished  regarding 
their  prisoners. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  the  Frankfort 
Red  Cross  in  Germany  to  forward  direct  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  at  Berne,  the  lists  of 
American  prisoners  of  war  taken  by  the  Ger- 
man military  forces,  giving  full  name,  name  of 
nearest  relative  or  friend,  date  and  place  of 
birth,  date  and  place  of  capture,  whether 
wounded  or  not,  and  camp  address ;  also  to  send 
by  telegraph  the  names  of  all  officers  and  avia- 
tors captured,  and  to  answer  all  telegraphic  in- 
quiries. This  was  all  done  under  an  agreement 
for  reciprocity  on  our  part.  But  after  all,  it 
seemed  that  the  quickest,  surest,  and  safest 
method  to  find  a  prisoner  was  to  have  him  re- 
port himself,  if  possible.  Accordingly  I  had 
postal  cards  printed  and  forwarded  to  all  the 
prison  camps  in  Germany  on  which  the  prisoner 
could  report  himself  and  supply  all  information 
required. 

In  all  the  prison  camps  in  Germany,  where 
there  was  a  sufficient  number  of  American  pris- 
oners, we  organized  camp  help  committees,  and 
instructed  them  to  report  without  delay  all  new 

24 


Finding  the  Prisoners 

arrivals  of  American  prisoners  in  their  camp  to 
the  American  Red  Cross  at  Berne;  also  to  see 
that  each  newly  arrived  prisoner  sent  the  card 
giving  the  full  information  requested.  This  in- 
formation arrived  very  much  quicker  than  the 
official  prison  lists  and  reduced  the  time  required 
to  locate  prisoners  in  Germany  by  at  least  fifty 
per  cent,  and  each  system  checked  the  other. 

Promptly  upon  receipt  of  these  cards  at  our 
Berne  offices,  the  prisoners  were  catalogued, 
and  all  available  information  regarding  them 
indexed  and  cross-indexed.  The  lists  of  names 
and  addresses  were  sent  to  the  storehouse, 
where  prisoners  were  classified  by  camps  and 
alphabetically,  and  names  placed  on  the  ship- 
ping directions  to  have  individual  packages  of 
food  sent  weekly.  Simultaneously  a  cablegram 
was  despatched  to  Washington,  giving  the  full 
name  of  the  prisoner,  the  name  of  his  nearest 
friend  or  relative,  his  camp  address,  and  any 
other  available  information  as  to  his  being 
wounded  or  otherwise.  The  American  Red 
Cross  at  Washington  immediately  notified  the 
families  in  America.  A  cablegram  was  also  de- 
spatched to  General  Headquarters  of  the  A.E.F. 

25 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

in  France  so  that  they  could  clear  their  records 
of  missing  men.  Advices  were  also  sent  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  at  Paris,  that  they  too 
might  clear  their  records  and  stop  searching  for 
these  men  in  the  hospitals  in  France. 

By  means  of  lists  General  Headquarters  in 
France  regularly  notified  us  of  all  missing  men. 
These  names  were  placed  on  cards  in  a  card  in- 
dex system  in  the  Berne  offices,  and  as  soon  as 
the  men  were  located  in  Germany,  their  name 
cards  were  removed  from  the  card  index  of 
missing  men,  full  information  was  entered  upon 
them,  and  they  were  filed  alphabetically  under 
the  list  of  prisoners.  The  cards  were  also  filed 
under  the  heading  of  the  prison  camps,  and  by 
classification  as  to  company  and  regiment.  In 
this  way,  we  had  at  all  times  a  complete  index 
of  all.  members  of  the  American  Expeditionary 
Forces  who  were  missing,  as  well  as  of  all  pris- 
oners in  Germany.  We  were  always  in  a  posi- 
tion to  answer  any  inquiries  about  any  man 
who  was  missing  or  a  prisoner,  and,  if  a  prisoner, 
could  supply  full  information  regarding  him. 

The  work  was  organized  into  the  following 
departments : 

26 


Finding  the  Prisoners 

Bureau  of  Information,  which  obtained  and 
tabulated  all  information  regarding  missing 
men  or  prisoners,  and  answered  all  inquiries 
from  the  families  in  America. 

Mr.  Ralph  Bailey,  of  Taunton,  Massachu- 
setts, was  at  the  head  of  this  bureau. 

Bureau  of  Relief  ,  which  handled  all  communi- 
cations in  connection  with  supplies  required  by 
the  camp  help  committees  or  by  individual 
prisoners  in  Germany,  saw  that  these  requests 
were  promptly  filled,  that  the  food  packages 
and  other  relief  supplies  were  regularly  sent, 
and  that  they  were  properly  receipted  for  by 
the  prisoners. 

Mr.  Athol  McBean,  of  San  Francisco,  took 
charge  of  this  work. 

Bureau  of  Supplies,  which  attended  to  the 
transportation  and  storage  of  all  supplies  in  the 
various  storehouses  in  Switzerland,  and  to  the 
packing  and  shipping  of  the  goods  in  accord- 
ance with  information  supplied  by  the  Bureau 
of  Relief. 

Mr.  McBean  also  looked  after  this  depart- 
ment, assisted  by  Mr.  Leon  G.  Levy,  of  San 
Francisco. 


Chapter  IV 

FOOD  AND  CLOTHING 

THE  storehouse  at  Bumpliz  was  devoted  to 
putting  up  individual  parcels  for  prisoners  and 
taking  care  of  special  orders.  Each  prisoner  re- 
ceived an  individual  parcel  of  food  addressed  to 
him  personally,  and  every  prisoner,  officer  and 
private,  received  exactly  the  same  food. 

The  first  package  delivered  by  the  Camp  Help 
Committee  to  every  prisoner  included  both 
food  and  clothing  and  was  made  up  as  follows : 


I  Ib.  corned  beef 
I  Ib.  roast  beef 

1  Ib.  salmon 

2  Ibs.  hash 
I  Ib.  jam 

I  bar  soap 

4  50.  pkgs.  tobacco 

I  overshirt 

1  undershirt 

2  cans  pork  and 
beans 

I  can  tomatoes 
i  can  corn 
I  can  peas 


1  pr.  drawers 

2  prs.  socks 

3  handkerchiefs 
2  towels 

1  tube  tooth-paste 

2  Ibs.  hard  bread 
I  pt.  evap.  milk 
I  Ib.  sugar 

1/2  Ib.  coffee 
I  tooth-brush 
I  comb 
I  housewife 
I  shaving-soap 
I  shaving-brush 


28 


CONTENTS  OF  FIRST  PARCEL  SENT  TO  PRISONERS 


Food  and  Clothing 

Thereafter  regular  food  parcels  were  sent 
every  week,  the  contents  of  the  package  mak- 
ing up  the  monthly  ration  for  each  prisoner 
being: 


ARMY  A- ist  Week 

Ib.  corned  beef 

Ib.  salt  pork 

Ib.  salmon 

Ibs.  corned  beef  hash 

can  pork  and  beans 

Ib.  dried  beans 

Ib.  tomatoes 
2  cans  corn 
2  cans  peas 
4  Ibs.  hard  bread 
I  Ib.  butter 
I  Ib.  sugar 
I  Ib.  prunes 
i  bar  soap 
80  cigarettes  or  tobacco 

ARMYC— 2dWeek 

I  Ib.  corned  beef 
I  Ib.  roast  beef 

1  Ib.  salt  pork 

2  Ibs.  corned  beef  hash 
i  can  pork  and  beans 


ARMY  E— 3d  Week 

Ib.  corned  beef 

Ib.  roast  beef 

Ib.  salmon 

Ibs.  corned  beef  hash 

can  pork  and  beans 

Ib.  tomatoes 

1  can  corn 

2  cans  peas 

4  Ibs.  hard  bread 

4  Ibs.  rice 

I  pt.  evap.  milk 

i  Ib.  sugar 

I  Ib.  coffee 

I  Ib.  raisins  or  figs 

80  cigarettes  or  tobacco 

ARMY  D— 4th  Week 

I  Ib.  corned  beef 
I  Ib.  roast  beef 

1  Ib.  salmon 

2  Ibs.  corned  beef  hash 
i  can  pork  and  beans 

29 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 


ARMY  C— 2d  Week 
(continued) 

I  Ib.  dried  beans 

1  Ib.  tomatoes 

2  Ibs.  corn 
2  Ibs.  peas 

4  Ibs.  hard  bread 

i  Ib.  sugar 

1/2  Ib.  cocoa 

I  Ib.  prunes 

I  pt.  vinegar 

80  cigarettes  or  tobacco 


ARMYD— 4th  Week 
(continued) 

I  Ib.  tomatoes 

1  can  corn 

2  cans  beans 

4  Ibs.  hard  bread 

pt.  evap.  milk 

Ib.  sugar 

Ib.  coffee 

Ib.  jam 

/2  Ib.  salt 

Ib.  chocolate  or  candy 
80  cigarettes  or  tobacco 


In  each  package  there  was  included  a  receipt 
in  postal  card  form,  which  was  signed  by  the 
prisoner  in  his  own  handwriting,  and  on  which 
he  stated  exactly  what  he  received  and  what 
was  missing,  if  anything.  Many  of  these  cards 
were  returned  to  America  to  be  sent  to  the 
prisoner's  family.  Each  shipment  was  checked 
against  the  receipt  cards  received  back,  and  in 
this  way  we  always  had  a  record  of  shortages 
and  knew  how  much  each  prisoner  was  actually 
receiving. 

The  same  emergency  first  parcels  of  food  and 
clothing  were  also  sent  to  all  naval  and  civilian 

30 


Food  and  Clothing 

prisoners,  as  well  as  the  same  subsequent  food 
parcels  each  week  thereafter.  It  was,  of  course, 
impossible  to  forward  clothing,  shoes,  and  hats, 
until  the  sizes  were  known.  To  take  care  of  this 
situation  there  was  included  in  each  original 
food  parcel,  as  well  as  left  in  the  hands  of  camp 
committees,  a  card  with  blank  spaces  for  sizes 
of  clothing,  hats,  shoes,  gloves,  etc.,  which  the 
prisoner  filled  out  and  on  which  he  gave  the 
sizes  in  detail. 

As  the  war  went  on,  the  prisoners  were 
robbed  more  and  more  of  their  clothing,  while 
they  were  in  the  zone  of  the  armies,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  get  packages  to  them 
promptly,  so  that  upon  their  arrival  in  the 
prison  camps,  they  could  at  once  be  provided 
with  uniform  trousers,  coats,  hats,  shoes,  or 
overcoats.  To  meet  this  condition,  we  placed  in 
the  hands  of  American  help  committees  in  all 
camps  where  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of 
American  prisoners  to  organize  such  commit- 
tees, or  in  the  hands  of  the  British  or  French 
help  committees  in  camps  where  there  were 
only  a  few  Americans,  a  reserve  supply  of  cloth- 
ing of  assorted  sizes,  so  that  when  the  prisoner 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

arrived  at  the  camp,  he  found  at  hand  whatever 
he  might  require.  This  arrangement  worked 
very  satisfactorily.  Agreements  were  made 
with  the  commanders  of  the  different  camps  to 
provide  storage  space  for  these  reserve  supplies, 
and  they  were  placed  under  lock  and  key,  so 
that  they  could  only  be  visited  jointly  by  a 
representative  of  the  camp  commander  and  a 
representative  of  the  camp  help  committee.  I 
have  no  record  of  any  thefts  of  materials  from 
these  storehouses  by  the  German  authorities. 

The  same  policy  was  followed  with  reference 
to  food,  and  the  original  food  parcels  and  re- 
serve supplies  of  the  weekly  food  parcels  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  these  camp  help  com- 
mittees. We  also  forwarded  to  help  committees 
bulk  shipments  of  all  classes  of  food,  so  they 
could  not  only  take  care  of  all  emergencies  in 
the  way  of  unexpected  arrivals  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  prisoners,  but  could  make  up  for  each 
man  any  articles  which  were  missing  in  his  food 
parcel  when  received  by  him. 

It  was  not  unusual,  especially  during  the  last 
three  months  of  the  war,  for  the  German  popu- 
lation in  certain  districts  where  they  were  very 

32 


'ARMY  C  "  FOOD  PARCEL  (SECOND  WEEK) 


"ARMY  D  "  FOOD  PARCEL  (FOURTH  WEEK) 


Food  and  Clothing 

short  of  food  at  that  time,  to  loot  the  individual 
packages  sent  to  the  prisoners.  At  first  such 
articles  as  soap  and  grease  (butter  or  bacon) 
would  be  stolen,  and  the  rest  of  the  package 
left  intact,  but  in  September  and  October, 
1918,  food  conditions  became  so  bad  in  Ger- 
many that  the  packages  would  frequently  be 
looted  of  sugar,  coffee,  canned  meats,  or  canned 
vegetables.  In  some  cases  the  packages  would 
arrive  with  only  the  bread  in  them.  In  such  in- 
stances the  camp  committee  would  immedi- 
ately deliver  to  the  prisoner  whose  package  had 
been  robbed,  sufficient  supplies  from  the  re- 
serve stores  to  make  up  his  weekly  ration.  This 
overcame  any  actual  suffering  for  lack  of  food 
by  the  American  prisoners,  and  was  a  safe- 
guard against  the  individual  stealing  from  the 
parcels  while  in  transit. 

Connected  with  the  camps  were  the  various 
working  Kommandos,  and  while  men  were 
officially  designated  as  at  a  certain  camp,  they 
might  in  reality  be  several  miles  from  the  camp, 
working  in  a  factory  or  on  the  railroads  or  high- 
ways. The  addresses  of  these  working  Kom- 
mandos were  never  given  out  by  the  German 

33 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

authorities,*and  the  food  and  clothing  had  to 
be  sent  to  the  parent  camp  and  forwarded  from 
there,  at  first  by  the  German  authorities  and 
afterwards  by  our  help  committees.  When  the 
food  and  clothing  parcels  arrived  at  the  camp, 
they  were  opened  and  examined  by  the  camp 
authorities.  They  were  then  repacked  and 
shipped  to  the  men  on  the  various  working 
Kommandos,  where  they  were  again  opened  by 
the  officers  in  charge  of  the  Kommandos.  This 
gave  additional  opportunities  for  stealing,  and 
was  a  system  against  which  I  protested,  insist- 
ing that  food  parcels  should  be  examined  only 
once,  and  then  in  the  presence  of  the  prisoner 
to  whom  it  was  sent.  This  was  finally  agreed  to 
by  the  German  authorities  and  is  incorporated 
in  the  Prisoner  of  War  Agreement  between  the 
United  States  and  the  German  Government. 


Chapter  V 

WHEN  A  PRISONER  IS  CAPTURED 
IN  order  to  clearly  understand  some  of  the 
difficulties  with  which  we  had  to  contend  it  is 
necessary  to  know  the  general  method  of  han- 
dling prisoners  of  war  when  captured  by  the 
German  military  forces. 

They  were  first  assembled  into  groups  and 
searched  for  papers  or  maps  and  individually 
questioned  by  the  German  military  intelligence 
officers  in  an  effort  to  obtain  from  them  infor- 
mation of  military  value.  All  sorts  of  methods 
were  used  to  force  such  information  from  the 
prisoners,  intimidation  and,  I  am  creditably 
informed,  in  some  cases  actual  physical  vio- 
lence and  even  killing.  Such  methods,  for  in- 
stance, as  holding  a  loaded  pistol  to  a  man's 
head,  or  a  bayonet  against  his  chest,  with  a 
threat  of  death  if  he  did  not  give  the  informa- 
tion desired. 

The  German  authorities  were  very  quick  to 
resent  the  slightest  rumor  of  force  on  the  part 
of  the  Allies  to  secure  military  information,  and  . 

35 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

it  is  my  conviction  that  no  inhuman  methods 
were  ever  used  to  obtain  such  information  from 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Allies.1 

The  military  information  to  be  obtained  from 
prisoners  was  regarded  as  so  important  that 
night  raids  were  constantly  made  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  securing  prisoners  for  the  military 
information  they  might  supply.  The  ordinary 
markings  on  the  uniforms  of  prisoners  taken 
in  night  raids  might  supply  information  as  to 
company  and  regiment.  Frequently  a  prisoner 
might  reveal  in  some  manner  the  division  of 
which  his  regiment  was  a  part;  or  the  enemy 
might  have  previously  obtained  the  informa- 
tion that  a  certain  company  or  regiment  con- 
stituted part  of  a  certain  division.  By  piecing 
this  information  together,  in  which  the  Ger- 
mans were  very  expert,  they  could  determine 
just  what  forces  were  confronting  that  particu- 
lar section  of  the  line. 

The  Germans  attached  great  value  to  the 
importance  of  prisoners  as  a  means  of  obtaining 
military  information  and  spared  no  pains,  trick- 
ery, threats,  or  expense  to  make  the  prisoners 
talk.  They  mixed  with  our  prisoners  spies  who 

36 


OUTFIT   FOR   MILITARY   PRISONERS 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 

wore  American  uniforms  and  spoke  perfect 
English  to  listen  to  their  conversation  and  if 
possible  win  their  confidence.  They  installed 
dictaphones  and  even  had  spies  living  in  the 
camps  among  the  prisoners  for  this  purpose. 
We  have  had  men  reported  as  prisoners  in 
German  camps  who  were  actually  with  their 
companies,  the  German  spies  obtaining  their 
names  and  living  in  the  camps  as  American 
prisoners. 

After  the  military  examination  was  com- 
pleted, a  record  was  made  of  the  men,  their 
names,  addresses,  nearest  friend  or  relative, 
company  and  regiment,  date  and  place  of 
birth,  and  date  and  place  of  capture.  The  pris- 
oners were  then  frequently  placed  at  work  be- 
hind the  enemy's  lines  and  often  under  fire  of 
their  own  guns.  This  labor  consisted  usually  of 
such  work  as  digging  trenches,  building  roads, 
barbed-wire  entanglements,  work  on  railroads, 
etc.,  and  was  contrary  to  all  existing  agree- 
ments. 

The  prisoner's  stay  behind  the  lines  de- 
pended upon  the  amount  of  work  the  Germans 
wished  done.  During  this  period  the  prisoner 

37 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

was  on  the  list  of  missing  and  was  behind  an 
impenetrable  screen  where  it  was  impossible  to 
get  in  contact  with  him  or  obtain  any  informa- 
tion regarding  him.  This  was  the  period  of  his 
greatest  deprivation  and  suifering. 

The  prisoner  was  usually  taken  in  battle  and 
had  only  the  clothes  on  his  back,  which  were 
frequently  muddy,  bloody,  and  torn.  If  he  was 
required  to  remain  in  these  clothes  without 
change  of  underwear  for  several  weeks,  and 
with  no  soap  or  towels,  he  inevitably  suffered. 
The  result  was  that  he  frequently  reached 
quarantine  camps  in  bad  condition.  He  was 
detained  in  quarantine  for  approximately  ten 
days.  His  clothing  was  disinfected  and  he  was 
then  sent  to  the  prison  camp  in  Germany 
which  was  assigned  to  the  army  corps  by  which 
he  was  taken  prisoner. 

Every  army  corps  had  its  own  prison  camp 
and  it  was  the  plan  to  confine  there  the  prison- 
ers taken  by  that  particular  corps.  Frequently 
the  headquarters  of  the  army  corps  would  be 
located  some  distance  from  the  prison  camp. 
As  an  illustration  of  how  this  method  worked, 
prisoners  taken  by  the  iyth  Army  Corps,  whose 

38 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 

headquarters  were  at  Danzig,  were  sent  to 
Tuchel  Prison  in  Prussia. 

In  the  process  of  reaching  these  various 
camps,  the  men  would  frequently  pass  through 
a  number  of  other  camps.  In  fact,  we  had  many 
prisoners  who  had  passed  through  five  or  more 
camps  before  reaching  the  permanent  camp. 
The  transfer  of  these  prisoners  from  one  camp 
to  another  was  sometimes  fast  and  sometimes 
slow,  and  caused  great  difficulty  in  getting  food 
parcels  to  the  men.  We  had  no  means  of  know- 
ing the  army  corps  by  which  any  prisoner  had 
been  captured,  or  to  what  permanent  camp  he 
would  be  sent. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  war  it  was  fre- 
quently the  case  that  a  prisoner  would  be  sent 
to  a  camp  where  we  never  had  any  prisoners 
before,  and  in  some  cases  where  there  were  only 
Russians  or  Roumanians.  This  resulted  in  a 
painful  delay  in  getting  the  food  parcels  to  the 
prisoners.  The  parcels  would  be  sent  to  the 
first  camp  to  which  the  prisoner  had  been  as- 
signed, and  it  might  happen  that  before  the 
package  reached  that  camp  the  prisoner  had 
been  sent  to  another  camp,  and  in  this  way  the 

39 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

food  parcel  might  follow  him  for  a  period  of 
four  or  five  weeks  before  finally  reaching  him. 
It  was  quite  impossible  to  overcome  these  con- 
ditions in  the  early  stages  of  the  war  as  there 
were  nineteen  different  army  corps  in  Ger- 
many to  each  of  which  one  or  more  prison 
camps  were  assigned,  and  a  prisoner  might  be 
any  number  of  weeks  in  reaching  his  perma- 
nent camp. 

All  of  these  difficulties  had  to  be  overcome  by 
constant  effort.  Continual  pressure  was  brought 
upon  the  German  authorities  through  the 
Spanish  Embassy  at  Berlin  for  a  concentration 
of  American  prisoners.  A  special  issue  was 
made  of  having  the  American  prisoners  trans- 
ferred from  Tuchel  Prison  in  Prussia  to  a  point 
nearer  Switzerland,  as  it  was  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult to  get  food  supplies  through  and  maintain 
satisfactory  communication  with  the  prison 
camps  in  Prussia.  These  efforts  were  finally 
successful,  and  a  concentration  of  American 
prisoners  was  obtained  in  the  camp  of  Ras- 
tatt  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  very  con- 
venient to  Switzerland,  where  it  was  possible 
to  organize  a  satisfactory  camp  committee, 

40 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 

maintain  large  reserves  of  food  and  clothing, 
and  handle  the  entire  situation  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner. 

On  November  15,  1918,  there  were  actually 
2353  American  prisoners  in  the  camp  at  Ras- 
tatt,  out  of  a  total  of  3602  in  all  camps  in  Ger- 
many. This  was  four  days  after  the  signing  of 
the  armistice,  and  was  about  two  thirds  of  the 
American  prisoners.  As  a  further  result  of  con- 
stant efforts,  I  obtained  a  concentration  of  the 
American  army  officers  at  the  prison  camps  at 
Villingen,  Karlsruhe,  and  Landshut,  at  which 
camps  on  November  15,  1918,  there  were  221 
American  officers  out  of  a  total  of  290. 

The  civilian  prisoners  were  concentrated  for 
the  most  part  at  the  four  prison  camps  of  Giis- 
trow,  Holzminden,  Brandenburg,  and  Parchim, 
where  there  were  114  prisoners  out  of  a  total  of 
144,  all  civilians. 

Of  the  naval  prisoners,  of  which  there  was  a 
total  of  ten  sailors,  eight  were  at  Brandenburg 
and  one  each  at  Rastatt  and  Villingen.  There 
were  two  naval  officers,  one  at  Stralsund  and 
one  at  Villingen.  The  naval  officer  at  Stralsund 
was  in  the  company  of  four  American  army 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

officers,  while  the  one  at  Villingen  was  with 
170  American  army  officers. 

On  pages  43  and  44  is  a  complete  state- 
ment of  all  American  prisoners  who  were  in 
the  hands  of  the  German  military  authorities, 
officially  reported  as  of  November  15,  1918, 
four  days  after  the  signing  of  the  armistice. 

It  was  the  practice  to  send  food  and  clothing 
parcels  to  every  American  prisoner,  whether  or 
not  he  was  actually  fighting  with  the  American 
forces.  It  frequently  happened  that  an  Ameri- 
can might  be  enlisted  with  the  French  or  Brit- 
ish forces,  having  enlisted  before  America  en- 
tered the  war.  While  it  was  understood  that 
each  country  would  feed  the  soldier  prisoners 
who  were  enlisted  with  its  armies,  if  an  Ameri- 
can were  taken  prisoner  we  fed  and  clothed  him 
from  our  storehouses  in  Switzerland  until  actu- 
ally assured  in  writing  that  he  was  being  pro- 
vided for  by  the  country  with  whose  troops  he 
was  enlisted  at  the  time  of  capture.  There  was 
also  a  large  number  of  Americans  attached  to, 
but  not  enlisted  with,  the  French  and  British 
forces.  These  men  were  treated  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  if  fighting  with  the  American 

42 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 


AMERICAN  RED 
CROSS,  BERNE 


PRISONER  REPORT 
NO.  7  DATE  ii,  15,  18 


TOTAL  NUMBER 
PRISONERS  3602 


CAMP 

ARMY 
OFFICERS 

ARMY 
N.C.O.'s 

AND 

PRIVATES 

NAVY 

OFFICERS 

s| 

*J5 

CIVILIANS 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

i 

.. 

2 
I 

Alten-Grabow  

2 

19 

4 

.. 

"s 

3 

39 

Berlin   

(jassel   

I 

35 
6 

" 

Czersk  

* 

78 

4 

.. 

•• 

• 

Erfurt  

•• 

i 

Friedrichsfeld  

3 

24 

•- 

-• 

- 

131 

•• 

-• 

•• 

4 

•• 

46 
3 

35 

•• 

-• 

14 
3 

2 

2 
26 

J 

.. 

•• 

Karlsruhe 

Xoln                   

i 
i 

•• 

•• 

• 

25 

3 

4i 
25 

100 

is 

IS 
33 
33 
9 
7 

I 

•'• 

I 

Lechf  eld     

4 
3 
i 

5 

Metz 

Munster                         

•• 

43 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 


AMERICAN  RED 
CROSS,  BERNE 


PRISONER  REPORT 
NO.  7   DATEn,  15,  18 


TOTAL  NUMBER 
PRISONERS  3602 


CAMP 

ARMY 
OFFICERS 

J»      % 

w 

*x   £ 

NAVY 
OFFICERS 

• 

!J3 

*~& 

CIVILIANS 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Now 
reported 

Oberhofen  

Ohrdruf 

Parchim 

2,48 

Stargard  .  •  

Stendal            .                        

Stralsund  

Trier  

6 

Tuchel  

Villin^en  

g 

Waldesheim 

3 

J 

Worms    

Zerbst  

28 

War  hospital  670,   German    field- 

Total  

3156 

2 

10 

*44 

United  States  Army. 
United  States  Navy. 
Civilian 


3446 

12 

144 


Grand  total 3602 


44 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 

forces,  and  were  all  provided  for  during  the 
term  of  their  imprisonment  from  the  American 
Red  Cross  supplies  at  Berne. 

While  the  English  and  French  had  excellent 
bureaus  for  the  feeding  and  care  of  their  prison- 
ers of  war,  the  work  was  not  centralized  as  in 
the  case  of  the  American  prisoners.  The  relief 
work  of  the  French  was  divided  among  a  large 
number  of  different  societies,  each  of  which  was 
responsible  for  a  certain  number  of  prisoners. 
They  required  all  prisoners  to  pay  for  their 
food  parcels,  as  previously  mentioned.  The 
English  supplied  only  bread  from  their  bureaus 
in  Switzerland,  the  other  food  parcels  being  sent 
from  England  or  Copenhagen. 

The  Italian  Government  had  no  organized 
relief  for  its  prisoners  of  war.  While  to  my 
knowledge  there  was  no  official  statement  to 
that  effect,  it  was  the  general  attitude  of  the 
Italian  Government  that  the  Italian  prisoners 
taken  at  the  first  battle  of  the  Piave  were  de- 
serters, which  was  probably  mainly  true.  No 
effort  was  made  on  the  part  of  the  Italian  Gov- 
ernment to  provide  them  with  food  and  cloth- 
ing, and  as  a  result  these  prisoners  suffered 

45 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

great  hardships  in  both  Austria  and  Germany. 
In  Austria  a  great  many  died  of  starvation. 

Mr.  Ralph  Stewart  of  the  Red  Cross  Com- 
mission at  Berne  made  a  special  trip  to  Italy 
in  the  interest  of  the  Italian  prisoners  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  Italian  Government  to 
agree  to  an  arrangement  for  the  relief  of  the  Ital- 
ian prisoners.  The  armistice  was  signed,  how- 
ever, before  the  arrangement  became  operative. 

Thousands  of  repatriated  Italian  prisoners 
passed  through  Switzerland  by  way  of  Buchs, 
at  which  point  the  American  Red  Cross  main- 
tained a  canteen  service  under  the  supervision 
of  Dr.  Alfred  Worcester  for  the  purpose  of  sup- 
plying them  with  necessary  food  and  clothing 
on  their  arrival  at  the  Swiss  border.  They  were 
mostly  in  a  deplorable  condition.  It  was  not  un- 
usual to  have  several  dead  on  each  train.  The 
pulse  of  the  men  was  low,  indicating  starvation. 
It  was  not  high,  as  is  the  case  in  tuberculosis, 
and  many  of  the  men  who  were  repatriated  as 
tubercular  were  actually  dying  of  starvation 
and  promptly  recovered  when  given  nourishing 
food.  I  have  photographs  of  Italian  prisoners  in 
the  Austrian  and  German  prison  camps  show- 


LIVING   AND   DEAD   ITALIAN   SOLDIERS   IN  THE   PRISON   CAMP 
OF   SIGMUNDSHERBERG,  AUSTRIA 

This  shows  clearly  the  horrible  condition  to  which  they  were  reduced  by  starvation. 

These  pictures  were  taken  secretly  with  a  very  small  camera  in  the  Prison 

Camp  and  smuggled  into  Switzerland  by  returning  prisoners 


When  a  Prisoner  is  Captured 

ing  men  dead  of  starvation,  and  others  on  the 
verge  of  death. 

The  testimony  of  the  returning  prisoners 
showed  that  the  condition  of  the  Italians  in  the 
German  prison  camps  was  deplorable.  The  Al- 
lied prisoners  did  all  they  could  to  afford  them 
relief  in  the  German  camps,  sharing  their  food 
parcels  with  them.  In  Austria,  however,  there 
were  few  Allied  prisoners  other  than  Italians 
and  Serbians.  The  food  conditions  there  were 
bad  and  thousands  of  Italian  prisoners  in  the 
Austrian  camps  died,  or  contracted  incurable 
tuberculosis  and  other  diseases  as  a  result  of 
starvation. 

Serbian  prisoners  were  sent  ample  supplies  of 
food  and  clothing  by  the  Bureau  de  Secours  aux 
Prisonniers  de  Guerre,  Section  Serbe,  at  Berne. 
The  Serbian  Government  obtained  a  loan  of 
$1,000,000  each  three  months  from  the  United 
States  Government  to  pay  for  the  supplies  which 
were  purchased  and  shipped  to  Switzerland  from 
the  United  States  by  the  American  Red  Cross. 
From  Switzerland,  the  supplies  were  shipped 
to  the  various  prison  camps  in  Austria.  Serbia 
also  provided  for  the  Montenegrin  prisoners. 


Chapter  VI 

LIVING  CONDITIONS 

THE  German  prison  camps  consisted  of  en- 
closures surrounded  by  a  barbed-wire  fence 
about  ten  feet  high;  in  some  camps  a  single 
fence,  in  others  an  extra  fence  about  fifty  to 
seventy-five  feet  outside  the  first  fence.  To  be 
caught  in  the  space  between  the  two  fences 
meant  death.  The  enclosure  was  frequently 
subdivided  into  compounds. 

The  hutments,  or  barracks,  were  usually 
built  of  wood,  one  story  high,  and  might  be  of 
any  length.  Beds  usually  consisted  of  bunks  and 
might  be  in  one  or. two  tiers,  with  mattresses 
filled  with  wood  shavings,  paper,  and  sometimes 
straw,  excellent  nests  for  all  kinds  of  vermin 
which  existed  in  greater  or  less  degree  in  all 
camps.  Insect  powder  was  in  constant  demand 
to  overcome  this  annoyance.  There  were  usu- 
ally two  blankets  provided  for  each  prisoner. 

Cooking  facilities  varied  greatly  in  different 
camps.  In  some  there  were  fairly  well-equipped 
kitchens;  in  others  each  prisoner  did  his  own 


Living  Conditions 

cooking  on  rough  portable  stoves.  In  some 
camps  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  get- 
ting any  fuel  with  which  to  cook,  and  in  a  great 
many  there  was  constant  complaint  about  the 
totally  inadequate  cooking  facilities  and  lack  of 
fuel.  Heating  was  by  means  of  stoves  and  light- 
ing usually  by  electricity. 

There  was  a  canteen  attached  to  each  camp 
where  various  things  could  be  purchased,  such 
as  mineral  water  and  very  poor  cigarettes  at 
very  high  prices.  When  the  prisoner  arrived  his 
money  was  taken  from  him  and  camp  money 
current  only  in  that  camp  issued  in  its  place. 
It  was  not  unusual,  however,  for  a  prisoner  to 
be  robbed  of  all  his  money  and  other  personal 
effects  before  reaching  his  permanent  camp. 

Prisoners  were  allowed  to  receive  any  num- 
ber of  letters  or  packages,  but  were  allowed  to 
send  only  two  letters  of  two  pages  each  and  four 
postal  cards  per  month.  Some  of  the  prisoners 
in  order  to  circumvent  the  limit  on  correspond- 
ence hit  on  the  excellent  idea  of  writing  one 
letter  to  the  American  Red  Cross  Commission 
at  Berne  containing  eight  or  ten  short  messages 
to  as  many  people.  We  would  rewrite  these 

49 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

letters  at  Berne  and  send  them  as  requested.  In 
this  way  it  was  possible  for  a  prisoner  to  send 
eight  to  twelve  letters  a  month  instead  of  two. 

The  food,  clothing,  and  all  other  parcels  were 
carefully  examined  before  being  delivered  to 
the  prisoner.  We  received  many  parcels  con- 
taining personal  effects,  food,  and  favorite 
books  which  we  examined  and  then  forwarded 
to  the  prisoners.  These  packages  usually  ar- 
rived safely. 

In  some  of  the  camps  there  were  bands 
or  orchestras  organized  by  the  prisoners.  The 
musical  instruments  were  bought  in  Germany 
by  the  prisoners,  or  they  were  sent  to  them  by 
various  relief  societies  from  the  country  of  the 
prisoner's  origin.  These  musical  organizations 
were  usually  international  in  character,  Amer- 
ica, France,  England,  and  Italy  all  being  repre- 
sented. Among  the  parcels  sent  in  from  America 
was  a  package  containing  music  with  all  the 
parts  for  a  full  band.  This  parcel  was  censored 
in  our  Berne  office  and  was  found  to  contain 
music  with  the  following  titles: 

"Just  Like  Washington  Crossed  the  Delaware 
Pershing  Will  Cross  the  Rhine" 
50 


ALL  PRISONERS  WERE  COMPELLED  TO  FACE  TOWARD  THE 
GERMAN  OFFICERS  IN  PASSING 


PARCEL  DAY  IN  A  GERMAN    PRISON  CAMP 


Living  Conditions 

"It's  a  Long  Way  to  Berlin  — but  We'll  Get 
There" 

"We'll  Knock  the  Heligo  into  Helligo  out  of 
Heligoland  " 

Of  course  this  music  would  never  be  per- 
mitted to  reach  the  prisoner  to  whom  it  was 
addressed,  and,  if  sent,  the  prisoner  might  even 
be  punished.  It  seemed  too  bad  to  lose  the  mu- 
sic, however,  so  we  decided  to  cut  the  titles  off 
the  top  and  send  it  along.  Our  boys  will  have 
great  fun  when  they  find  out  the  names  of  the 
tunes  with  which  they  have  been  serenading 
their  German  jailors. 

The  talent  represented  among  the  prisoners 
was  varied  and  excellent.  There  were  stars  of 
the  variety  stage,  actors  of  serious  drama, 
comedians,  dancers,  and  musicians.  Theatres 
were  arranged  in  many  of  the  camps,  make-up 
outfits  and  costumes  were  sent  in,  and  the  pris- 
oners gave  theatrical  performances,  concerts, 
and  entertainments  of  various  kinds. 

In  Switzerland  there  was  a  symphony  orches- 
tra of  fifty  pieces  assembled  entirely  from  the 
interned  French  prisoners.  These  men  were 
accomplished  musicians  and  played  the  best 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

music  in  a  finished  manner.  Ernest  Schelling, 
the  famous  American  pianist,  was  much  inter- 
ested in  this  organization,  assisted  them  to  get 
music,  and  was  arranging  a  tour  of  Switzerland 
for  them  at  the  time  the  armistice  was  signed. 
At  the  request  of  the  prisoners  in  this  orches- 
tra members  whose  turn  for  repatriation  came 
were  permitted  to  remain  in  Switzerland  by 
special  arrangement  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. This  was  constructive  action  on  the  part 
of  the  authorities,  as  one  of  the  great  problems 
confronting  France  is  the  reeducation  of  its  re- 
turning prisoners  in  useful  occupations. 

Athletic  games  were  permitted  in  the  camps 
to  a  considerable  extent.  Most  camps  were  pro- 
vided with  space  for  hand-ball  and  football, 
and  the  Americans  of  course  introduced  base- 
ball. The  equipment  —  balls,  bats,  gloves, 
masks  —  was  sent  to  the  American  prisoners 
by  the  Y.M.C.A.  By  special  agreement  be- 
tween the  Y.M.C.A.  and  the  Red  Cross,  it  was 
arranged  that  the  Y.M.C.A.  should  furnish  all 
books,  games,  and  athletic  paraphernalia  for 
the  prisoners. 

Mr.  Conrad  Hoffmann,  a  Y.M.C.A.  delegate, 
52 


Living  Conditions 

found  out  what  they  needed  for  recreation, 
amusements,  and  educational  activities  and  the 
supplies  were  shipped  from  Berne  and  Copen- 
hagen into  the  camps.  Educational  classes  were 
conducted  in  many  camps  and  prisoners  had 
an  opportunity  to  study,  especially  languages. 
There  were  teachers,  professors,  and  intellec- 
tuals in  the  camps,  and  prisoners  really  desirous 
of  improving  their  time  had  an  opportunity  to 
do  so.  We  received  numerous  requests  for  edu- 
cational and  scientific  books  and  in  most  camps 
there  were  very  good  libraries.  *i 

In  the  prison  camp  of  Rastatt  American 
prisoners  started  a  newspaper  known  as  the 
"Barbed  Wireless,"  a  delicious  bit  of  satire  on 
the  conditions  under  which  they  lived.  •« 

The  officers  were  quartered  in  many  in- 
stances in  hotels,  schools,  barracks,  and  cha- 
teaux taken  over  for  the  purpose.  They  were 
allowed  cooks  and  orderlies  to  look  after  their 
comfort  and  were  permitted  in  most  camps 
to  take  walks  outside  the  prison  upon  giving 
their  word  not  to  attempt  to  escape. 

The  conditions  described  above  were  general 
and  there  were  many  exceptions  as  to  living 

53 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

accommodations  and  privileges.  These  were 
largely  affected  by  the  commandant  of  the 
camp,  who  could  usually  make  conditions  good 
or  bad  at  will.  Our  inspection  reports  from  the 
neutral  delegates  and  many  interviews  with  re- 
turning prisoners  enabled  us  to  keep  a  pretty 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  in  camps 
where  Americans  were  located. 

If  we  were  suspicious  of  a  camp  we  at  once 
arranged  for  a  special  visit  by  a  neutral  repre- 
sentative. As  an  illustration,  one  day  two  es- 
caped prisoners  f rom  Villingen  arrived  at  Berne. 
They  told  us  that  at  the  time  of  their  attempt 
to  escape  ten  other  Americans  also  tried  to  get 
away.  A  large  number  of  shots  were  fired  and  it 
was  possible  and  even  probable  that  some  had 
been  wounded  or  killed.  It  was  also  possible 
that  others  might  receive  abuse  or  unreasona- 
ble terms  of  imprisonment  for  the  attempt.  We 
at  once  arranged  a  visit  by  a  neutral  delegate, 
and  found  that  none  of  the  men  had  been 
killed,  wounded,  or  unduly  punished. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  understand  the 
nature  of  these  reports,  I  am  reproducing  in 
the  following  chapter  copies  of  a  few  typical 

54 


AMERICAN  PRISONERS     BAND  AT  RASTATT  PRISON 


AMERICAN  PRISONERS  AT  RASTATT  PRISON  RECEIVING 
THEIR  RED  CROSS  PARCELS 


Living  Conditions 

reports,  and  extracts  from  others,  as  received 
by  the  commission  at  Berne.  These  reports  con- 
tained much  useful  information  and  it  will  be 
noted  that  the  delegate  did  not  fail  to  listen  to 
and  report  the  complaints  of  the  prisoners,  ad- 
justing the  matters  directly  on  the  spot  with 
the  German  camp  authorities  when  possible, 
and  reporting  all  complaints  to  us  at  Berne 
with  the  action  taken. 

These  reports  also  present  an  excellent  pic- 
ture of  camp  conditions  —  sanitary  arrange- 
ments, religious  exercises,  and  amusements. 
The  report  of  Tuchel  Prison  gives  the  entire 
menu  for  one  week,  as  provided  by  the  German 
Government. 


Chapter  VII 

REPORTS  BY  NEUTRAL  DELEGATES 

(Translations) 

INFORMATION  CONCERNING  THE  CAMP  OF   PRISONERS 

OF  WAR  AT  TUCHEL  BELONGING  TO  THE 

XVIlTH  ARMY  CORPS 

(Visited  without  previous  notice  by  the  Inspector,  on  the 
1 3th  of  April,  1918) 

Commander  of  the  Camp:  a  major-general. 
This  camp  was  visited  in  the  beginning  of  the 
present  year  by  delegates  of  the 


Description:  The  camp  is  composed  of  two 
completely  separate  parts,  called  Camp  No.  I 
and  Camp  No.  2,  but  of  these  two  only  the 
larger  one  is  at  present  occupied,  the  other  be- 
ing completely  empty.  In  both  of  them  the  con- 
struction of  the  barracks  is  completely  subter- 
ranean, only  the  roof  being  open  to  the  sky  and 
some  of  the  walls,  which  are  protected  by  a 
layer  of  sand.  The  delegate  thought  that  this 
peculiar  construction  of  the  barracks  would 
make  them  damp,  especially  in  winter,  but  the 
authorities  of  the  camp  say  that  this  is  not  the 
case,  as  the  sandy  nature  of  the  ground  makes 

56 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

them  more  dry,  and  for  this  reason,  in  winter 
the  barracks  are  much  more  protected  and 
warmer. 

Population:  The  total  population  of  the 
camp  on  the  day  on  which  we  visited  it,  was 
61,840  prisoners  of  war,  of  whom  only  28,402 
live  in  the  camp,  the  33,438  remaining  prisoners 
being  partitioned  for  work  in  the  camps  where 
they  live. 

The  nationality  and  grades  of  those  28,402 
who  live  in  the  camp  are  as  follows: 

American  military  prisoners 33 

American  civilian  prisoners I 

Russian  military  prisoners 27,944 

Russian  civilian  prisoners 16 

Roumanian  military  prisoners . .        366 

English  civilian  prisoners 41 

Italian  civilian  prisoners i_ 

Total 28,402 

As  far  as  concerns  the  33,438  prisoners  of 
war  who  live  in  the  different  outposts  of  work, 
their  nationalities  and  grades  are  as  follows: 

Military  Belgians 3 

Military  Russians 30,060 

Military  Roumanians 3,375 

Total  prisoners  of  war 33>438 

57 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Lodging:  As  far  as  possible,  the  prisoners  are 
lodged  in  barracks,  according  to  nationality, 
the  Americans  having  one  barrack  for  them- 
selves. These  barracks  are  of  the  general  form 
above  mentioned,  and  in  the  interior  are  ar- 
ranged the  beds  of  the  prisoners,  in  two  tiers 
one  over  the  other,  one  little  tablet  marking 
the  space  which  corresponds  for  each  prisoner. 
Each  one  of  these  consists  of  a  sheet  and  a  mat- 
tress full  of  wood-shavings,  and  two  blankets. 

The  illumination  in  the  barracks  is  electric 
and  during  the  day  they  receive  the  light  as 
well  as  ventilation  by  means  of  skylights  situ- 
ated in  the  roofs. 

Heating  is  obtained  by  large  brick  stoves 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  barrack. 

The  chief  of  the  barrack  sleeps  in  a  small 
separate  room,  in  which,  in  addition,  two  other 
prisoners  sleep. 

Hygienic  services:  Water  did  not  seem  to  be 
either  abundant  or  good.  Judging  from  what 
the  prisoners  say  and  from  what  others,  such  as 
the  Americans,  request,  as  will  be  seen  below. 
Mineral  waters  are  sold  in  the  canteen. 

Washing  of  clothes  in  general  is  done  by  sev- 

58 


OUTFIT  FOR  ALL  CIVILIAN  PRISONERS 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

eral  of  the  prisoners,  who  have  for  this  purpose 
laundries  in  the  camp. 

The  privies  are  of  the  water-closet  type,  the 
cleaning  of  which  is  done  by  the  prisoners 
themselves. 

The  number  of  showers  and  baths  is  consid- 
erable, and  occupy  a  large  barrack  situated  in 
the  middle  of  the  camp.  The  number  of  baths 
which  the  prisoners  are  accustomed  to  take  is 
one  every  ten  days,  but  now  the  Americans 
complain  that  a  month  has  passed  without 
their  having  a  bath,  and  without  knowing 
when  they  can  take  it.  The  authorities  of  the 
camp  assert  that  this  is  due  to  the  fact  of  the 
arrival  of  Russian  prisoners  of  war  taken  in 
Russia  a  few  months  ago,  which  necessitates 
the  occupation  of  the  whole  set  of  baths  in 
order  to  disinfect  them,  but  as  soon  as  that  is 
accomplished,  the  baths  will  be  utilized  as  has 
been  customary  hitherto. 

Sanitary  services:  The  sick  are  visited  daily 
by  the  doctors  attached  to  the  camp.  There  are 
five  German  and  about  fifty  Russian  doctors. 
The  light  cases  are  kept  in  the  infirmary  of  the 
camp,  but  those  more  seriously  ill  are  kept 

59 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

in  the  hospital  (of  same  camp).  The  general 
health  of  the  camp  appears  to  be  good,  al- 
though the  total  sickness  had  somewhat  in- 
creased, 2440  in  all,  of  which  2355  were  Rus- 
sians and  85  Roumanians.  The  diseases  were  of 
the  usual  nature.  The  dentist  is  established  in 
the  same  hospital. 

Diet:  The  food  is  prepared  in  the  camp  by  the 
prisoners  themselves.  The  list  of  meals  with  the 
quantity  of  food  of  each  is  written  up  on  a 
blackboard  in  the  kitchen,  and  in  addition  is 
written  on  the  menu  each  day.  The  prisoners 
complain  that  the  food  is  scant  and  meagre, 
the  Americans  stating  that  the  basis  of  their 
nourishment  comes  from  the  packages  which 
they  receive.  The  general  appearance  of  the 
prisoners  is  good,  but  that  of  the  Americans 
seems  rather  better.  These  say  that  the  meals 
do  not  please  them  because  they  are  tasteless, 
or  not  made  according  to  their  tastes. 

The  quantity  of  bread  is  285  grs.  per  diem 
and  per  prisoner,  the  bread  being  of  the  usual 
quality  amongst  the  population. 

The  evening  meal  was  tasted  by  the  delegate 
on  the  day  of  his  visit.  It  consisted  of  fish, 

60 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

soup,  potatoes,  and  some  grease,  and  was  found 
to  be  of  good  savor,  but  of  very  little  strength. 
The  midday  meal  had  consisted  of  a  soup  of 
beef,  potatoes,  beans,  and  other  vegetables. 

For  more  clearness,  there  is  at  the  end  of  this 
report,  copy  of  a  list  of  the  meals  served  during 
the  week  of  this  visit  (which  is  the  same  dur- 
ing the  whole  month)  with  the  quantity  of  each 
dish  corresponding  to  each  prisoner,  as  it  was 
inscribed  on  the  board  in  the  kitchen. 

Packages:  The  Americans  complain  that  the 
packages  which  reach  them  from  Switzerland 
are  usually  delayed  some  twenty-one  days,  and 
that  the  few  which  up  to  the  present  they  have 
received  from  America  are  delayed  between 
three  and  four  months.  The  other  prisoners 
cannot  make  any  specific  declaration,  as  the 
packages  they  receive  are  few. 

The  Americans  say  that  the  packages  which 
they  have  received  up  to  the  present  were  in 
fairly  good  state,  except  five  or  six  which 
reached  them  almost  empty.  The  number 
which  they  receive  is  two  individual  packages 
per  week. 

In  order  to  prepare  the  contents  of  the  pack- 
61 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ages,  the  prisoners  have  a  stove  with  four  open- 
ings for  each  company  or  group,  which  up  to 
the  present  has  been  sufficient,  but  should 
the  number  of  prisoners  who  receive  packages 
be  increased  this  arrangement  would  be  abso- 
lutely insufficient. 

Canteen:  There  is  one  in  the  camp,  but  in  it 
are  sold  only  objects  of  personal  use  and  occa- 
sionally some  drinks  such  as  lemonade.  Also 
cigarettes,  cigars,  etc.,  are  sold.  The  American 
prisoners  request  that  also  mineral  water  be 
placed  on  sale. 

Clothing:  The  general  aspect  of  the  prisoners 
is  not  bad,  that  of  the  Americans  being  the 
best.  These  especially  wish  that  they  be  given 
boots  with  leather  soles  or  that  these  be  sent 
from  their  country.  Their  representative  in  the 
camp,  referring  to  this  point,  asked  that  should 
these  be  sent,  also  leather  be  sent  to  repair 
them,  as  here  no  material  whatever  exists. 

Religious  services:  Only  the  Russians  have 
religious  service  in  the  camp,  but  one  is  being 
prepared  for  the  Catholics  and  for  the  Protes- 
tants, as  soon  as  their  number  justifies  it. 

Help  committees:  One  exists  for  each  nation- 
62 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

ality  which,  according  to  report,  worked  with- 
out difficulty  up  to  the  present. 

Recreation:  They  may  receive  and  do  receive 
periodicals  authorized  by  the  Ministry  of  War. 
Although  they  possess  some  instruments,  they 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  compose  an  orchestra. 
Also  there  are  some  books. 

The  American  prisoners  make  frequent 
manifestations  on  this  point,  which  will  be 
touched  upon  further  on. 

Correspondence:  All  prisoners  may  write  two 
letters  and  four  regulation  post  cards.  Those 
which  reach  them  from  France  or  America  are 
usually  one  to  two  months  old,  from  Russia  or 
Roumania  some  four  months  old. 

Work:  There  is  no  other  except  the  general 
work  of  the  camp,  which  is  not  paid  for.  There 
are  also  some  special  employments  such  as 
those  of  shoemaking,  which  are  paid  for  at 
thirty  pfennigs  a  day.  The  American  prisoners, 
up  to  the  present,  lend  no  service  except  that 
for  the  camp. 

Punishments:  There  is  a  barrack  reserved  for 
this  purpose  in  which  are  a  great  number  of 
cells.  The  punishments  are  those  usually  en- 

63 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

forced  for  light  offenses  with  all  usual  appli- 
ances. The  medium  offenses  allow  bed  and 
meals  one  day  out  of  every  four,  and  the  re- 
maining days  with  only  blankets  and  a  double 
ration  of  bread.  Heavier  penalties  are  the  same 
as  above,  but  carried  out  in  darkness.  On  the 
day  in  which  the  visit  took  place,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  Russians  and  one  American 
were  in  confinement.  The  former  were  there  on 
account  of  disobedience  to  the  general  rules  of 
the  camp,  and  the  last  mentioned  on  account  of 
a  petition  from  his  companions  because  he  sold, 
according  to  what  they  said,  his  own  packages 
and  stole  their  packages  in  order  to  eat  them.' 
Observations:  There  is,  in  addition  to  the 
American  prisoners  above  mentioned,  who  are 
all  military  prisoners,  one  civilian  by  the  name 
of  Henry  C.  Emery,1  taken  some  twenty  days 
ago  in  Finland.  This  man  is  more  in  the  light  of 

1  Mr.  Emery  is  the  son  of  Judge  L.  A.  Emery,  of  Maine. 
He  was  a  professor  at  Bowdoin  College  and  afterwards  at 
Yale,  and  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Tariff  Commission  un- 
der President  Taft.  He  was  sent  on  a  commercial  mission  to 
Russia  in  1917  and  was  captured  by  the  Germans  while  on 
his  way  from  that  country  to  America.  He  was  held  a  pris- 
oner for  nearly  a  year.  He  was  released  just  before  the  armi- 
stice was  signed,  and  arrived  in  America  in  November,  1918. 

64 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

an  interne  than  of  a  prisoner,  and  on  this  ac- 
count is  not  subject  to  the  rules  of  the  former, 
it  being  believed  that  very  shortly  he  will  be 
liberated.  I  was  not  able  to  speak  to  him  during 
the  visit,  as  it  happened  that  he  had  gone  for  a 
walk,  accompanied  by  a  German  attendant. 

Opinion  of  the  delegate:  Accepting  what  was 
said  by  the  German  authorities  concerning  the 
dampness  of  the  barracks  on  account  of  the  sys- 
tem of  construction  and  above  all  because  pris- 
oners presented  no  complaints  on  this  ground, 
this  camp  may  be  accepted.  The  treatment  by 
the  commander  and  other  authorities  of  the 
camp  of  the  prisoners  seems  good.  Prisoners 
presented  no  complaints  on  this  subject.  Ex- 
cept for  the  barracks  where  they  are  independ- 
ently kept,  the  treatment  of  American  prison- 
ers is  the  same  as  that  received  by  others  in  this 
camp. 

The  American  prisoners  presented  no  com- 
plaint whatever  against  personal  treatment, 
declaring  themselves  satisfied  up  to  the  present 
time  with  the  treatment  afforded  them  by  the 
commander,  as  well  as  the  other  authorities  of 
the  camp. 

65 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Concerning  food,  they  desire  that  the  Can- 
teen should  sell  some  mineral  waters,  as  they 
say  the  water  of  the  camp  is  not  good  to  drink, 
and  they  need  more  water. 

The  interview  with  the  prisoners  took  place 
in  the  presence  of  an  official  appointed  by  the 
Commander  of  the  Camp. 

(Sd)  


Tuchel,  I4th  of  April,  1918 

There  were  in  the  camp  of  Tuchel  10  Ameri- 
cans, 300  Roumanians,  3800  Russians  and  5 
Russian  children  from  Kalish. 

Under  the  heading  of  "Food,"  the  Spanish 
Embassy  report  of  February  9,  1918,  states: 
"In  the  kitchen  they  were  given  blood  sausage, 
sour  cabbage  and  potatoes.  Only  twice  a  week 
is  there  a  meal  with  meat.  The  ration  of  bread 
is  285  grs.  daily." 

"Lodgings"  —  underground  huts. 

Under  the  head  of  "Canteen,"  this  report 
states:  "The  cheapest  cigarettes  8  pfg.  each. 
Also  pickles  at  from  20  to  30  pfg.  apiece." 

66  " 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 


CAMP  TUCHEL 
Food  Board  for  April,  1918 


Day 

Breakfast 

UnitS 

Dinner 
UnitS 

Supper 
UnitS 

co  beef 

5  sugar 
o.oio  saccharine 

400  potatoes 
500  "  wrucken  " 
30  mixed  flour 
25  buckwheat,  oats 

200  potatoes 
5  grease 
3  tea 
0.015  saccharine 

, 

,     i 

200  potatoes 
50  mixed  flour 
7.5  grease 

200  potatoes 
5  grease 

Tuesday      •  • 

fi  h 

. 

40  dry  vegetables 
400  potatoes 
50  mixed  flour 
5  grease 
25  mustard  substitute 

25  sugar 
50  marmalade 

Wednesday.... 

See  Sunday 

50  salt  meat 
300  sauerkraut 
400  potatoes 
30  mixed  flour 
25  buckwheat,  oats 

50  sea-food 
200  potatoes 
5  grease 
3  tea 
0.015  saccharine 

Thuriday  .  ... 

,     i 

300  potatoes 
50  mixed  flour 
7.5  grease 

200  potatoes 
5  grease 

fi  h 

1'  a 

40  dry  vegetables 
400  potatoes 
50  mixed  flour 
5  grease 
25  mustard  substitute 

25  sugar 
50  marmalade 

Saturday  

See  Sunday 

100  meat  sausage 
300  sauerkraut 
400  potatoes 
60  mixed  flour 

loo  beans 
200  potatoes 
5  grease 

The  quantities  above  are  all  expressed  in  grammes.    Subject  to  alteration. 

Under  date  of  April  8,  1918,  we  were  notified 
by  the  Spanish  Embassy  report  that  all  pri- 
vates and  non-commissioned  officers  with  the 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

American  Army  taken  prisoners  on  the  Western 
Front  would  be  concentrated  at  Tuchel  after 
they  have  been  disinfected  at  the  temporary 
camp. 

The  commandant  of  the  camp  at  Tuchel  was 
General  V.  Koclechreuth.  He  made  the  follow- 
ing statement  on  May  29  to  Mr.  Hoffmann,  the 
Y.M.C.A.  representative:  "Though  the  Ameri- 
can prisoners  are  not  my  friends,  I  must  tell 
you  that  their  behavior  here  in  the  camp  is 
excellent." 

June  7,  1918,  report  No. 

32,  says: 

"To  the  various  questions  put  by  the  dele- 
gate, the  American  prisoners  made  the  follow- 
ing statements,  —  On  the  I2th  of  January  of 
the  present  year,  there  arrived  in  the  camp  at 
Tuchel  8  American  prisoners  captured  on  the 
3d  of  November,  1917,  at  Lorena,  whose  names 
are,  —  Sergeant  Hallyburton,  Privates  Decker, 
Gallegher,  Grafray,  Grimsley,  Kendall,  Lester 
and  Longhman;  that  in  reality  they  were  very 
hungry  because  during  the  journey  from  the 
former  camp  (Darmstadt)  to  the  actual  one 
where  they  are  now,  they  received  nothing 

68 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

more  than  German  rations,  which  they  say 
were  exceedingly  small;  that  when  they  arrived 
they  were  lined  up  on  the  square  of  the  camp 
where  the  Major-General  commanding  the 
camp  addressed  them  in  a  German  speech,  and 
as  a  consequence,  they  understood  not  a  word. 
Concerning  their  shoes,  they  in  reality  were 
taken  away  from  the  eighteen  following  pris- 
oners, the  8  above  mentioned  in  the  first  part 
of  the  report  and  further  on  those  named 
(their  full  names  will  be  found  in  the  descrip- 
tion which  accompanies  the  previous  report  of 
April  13).  The  American  leather  boots  which 
they  were  wearing  were  taken  and  in  their 
place,  others  with  wooden  soles  were  given 
them;  they  were  not  allowed  to  take  any  cloth- 
ing; in  reality,  they  were  camped  for  a  while 
(approximately  one  month)  without  money  of 
any  kind.  Sergeant  Hallyburton,  of  the  i6th 
Infantry,  F.C.,  Stony  Point,  North  Carolina, 
had  in  his  possession  frs.  1800,  which  he 
changed  into  marks,  and  with  which  he  helped 
his  American  fellow  prisoners  until  help  reached 
them.  When  his  'money  was  spent,  a  part  was 
returned  to  him  by  these  same  American  com- 

69 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

panion  prisoners.  On  the  4th  of  May,  the  Amer- 
ican Red  Cross  at  Berne  wrote  to  them  that 
they  were  sending  them  96  pairs  of  shoes  and 
other  things,  and  on  the  arrival  of  this  total  in- 
voice, all  the  shoes  except  one  were  missing,  - 
that  is  to  say,  of  96  pairs,  only  one  shoe  arrived; 
also  the  following  objects,  —  96  cans  of  corned 
beef  hash,  20  packages  of  biscuits,  100  pounds 
of  sugar,  8  cans  of  tomatoes,  32  flannel  over- 
shirts  and  31  suits  of  pajamas;  they  beg,  in 
view  of  these  repeated  losses,  an  energetic  in- 
tervention on  the  part  of  the  Embassy  be  made 
in  order  that  such  abuses  might  be  corrected, 
as  it  occasions  a  great  moral  and  material  loss. 
Referring  to  these  shoes,  the  German  authori- 
ties declare  their  shoes  were  taken  from  them  in 
conformity  with  an  order  of  the  Ministry  of 
War  which  decrees  that  this  shall  be  done,  that 
if  for  any  reason  they  go  outside  of  the  camp, 
the  1 8  pairs  of  shoes,  which  are  in  the  store- 
house in  the  camp,  will  be  returned  to  them. 
Referring  to  the  loss  of  packages,  the  German 
authorities  declare  that  all  that  they  can  as- 
certain is  that  when  the  packages  reached  the 
camp,  these  objects  were  missing.  The  treat- 

70 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

ment  of  the  prisoners  by  the  commandant  of 
the  camp  appears  good  and  all  the  assertions 
of  the  prisoners  on  the  subject  confirm  it." 

In  the  name  of  the  American  Red  Cross  I 
protested,  under  date  of  July  9,  1918,  through 
the  International  Red  Cross,  against  the  tak- 
ing away  of  shoes  from  American  prisoners  of 
war  and  substituting  wooden  shoes;  and  also 
against  the  theft  of  ninety-five  and  one  half 
pairs  of  shoes  shipped  to  the  prisoners  of  war. 

Under  date  of  October  n,  1918,  the  German 
Minister  of  War  replied  to  the  International 
Red  Cross  as  follows:  "Clothing  and  uniforms 
belonging  to  prisoners  of  war  worn  by  them  at 
the  time  of  their  capture  are  considered  as  war 
booty." 

The  International  Red  Cross,  in  forwarding 
to  the  American  Red  Cross  this  letter,  under 
date  of  October  17  stated:  "We  cannot  sub- 
scribe to  the  pretensions  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment concerning  the  clothing  and  uniforms 
of  prisoners  as  booty  of  war.  This  affirmation  is 
in  effect  contrary  to  the  fourth  article  of  the 
Hague  Convention  which  provides  that  all  per- 
sonal property  of  prisoners  of  war,  excepting 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

their  arms,  their  horses,  and  their  military  pa- 
pers, shall  remain  their  property." 


(Translation) 
STUTTGART  ZONE  —  VILLINGEN  CAMP 


.  .  BERLIN 

American  Report 

No.  63 

The  following  American  officers  were  there 
on  the  day  of  the  visit: 

Major i 

Captains 4 

Captain  Lieutenant  (ist  Lieutenant)     I 

Lieutenants 38 

Physicians 21 

Officers  of  merchant  marine 5 

TO 

Help  Committee:  The  American  Help  Com- 
mittee works  regularly  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  officers. 

They  desire  facilities  for  storing  food  and 
clothing  for  officers  who  arrive  at  the  camp  and 
are  in  need  of  them,  but  the  places  at  present  at 
their  disposal  are  not  sufficient.  The  camp  au- 
thorities state  that  the  storerooms  at  the  dis- 

72 


IN  THE  PRISON  CAMP  AT  VILLINGEN,  GERMANY 

Major  Sarda  (centre) ,  of  the  Spanish  Artillery,  was  Official  Representative  of 

the  United  States  Government  for  the  Inspection  of  German  Prison  Camps. 

Major  Harry  Brown  (left),  of  Milford,  Mass.,  and  Major  Dirk  Bruins 

(right),  U.S.  Sanitary  Train,  were  Prisoners  of  War 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

posal  of  the  committee  are  sufficiently  large, 
but  such  a  quantity  of  shipments  are  received 
that  they  are  quite  full  of  parcels  and  there 
are  no  others  available. 

Sanitary  service:  The  German  physician  vis- 
its the  camp  daily,  those  who  must  be  placed  in 
a  hospital  being  sent  to  Offenburg.  The  health 
conditions  are  good,  none  of  the  officers  being 
ill  at  the  time  of  the  visit.  They  stated  that 
there  had  been  an  epidemic  of  grippe  during 
the  preceding  months  in  a  light  form,  when  the 
officers  remained  in  their  dormitories,  there 
being  no  infirmary,  and  these  were  not  after- 
wards infected.  There  were  no  deaths  and  only 
one  officer  had  to  be  taken  to  the  hospital. 

Hygienic  services:  Satisfactory  to  the  prison- 
ers with  the  exception  that  the  floor  of  one  of 
the  toilets  had  fallen  in  somewhat  and  there 
were  unpleasant  odors;  the  toilets  are  cared  for 
and  disinfected  with  usual  frequency.  The  Ger- 
man authorities  stated  that  they  would  have  the 
floor  of  the  one  complained  of  repaired  at  once. 

Food:  In  consideration  of  the  rationing  of 
civilians  in  Germany,  the  food  served  in  this 
camp  is  good. 

73 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Canteens:  There  are  two,  one  an  ordinary  can- 
teen and  the  other  for  the  sale  of  various  arti- 
cles, —  writing  materials,  delicacies,  cigarettes, 
and  certain  foods  and  drinks.  The  canteen 
prices  are  fixed.  The  officers  consider  the  prices 
of  the  special  canteen  as  high  and  fixed  accord- 
ing to  the  caprice  of  the  one  in  charge.  There- 
fore they  buy  nothing  there.  The  camp  authori- 
ties contend  that  the  prices  are  the  same  as 
those  in  the  town  and  vary  according  to  com- 
mercial variations,  yet  are,  to  a  certain  extent, 
regulated  by  the  man  in  charge. 
'  Amusements:  They  have  tennis  and  football, 
but  find  the  football  field  too  small  and  would 
like  to  obtain  ground  farther  from  the  camp  for 
this  purpose;  would  also  like  to  have  permission 
to  go  out  Sunday  afternoons  to  sketch  and 
paint  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp.  The 
camp  authorities  told  them  that  they  have  suf- 
ficient space  within  the  camp  grounds  for  sports 
and  cannot  have  any  other  plot  of  ground  out- 
side. They  go  for  a  walk  once  a  week;  also  have 
a  library. 

Religious  services:  Asked  the  German  author- 
ities permission  to  assist  at  the  Catholic  and 

74 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

evangelical  services  of  the  city  churches,  as  the 
officers  of  other  nationalities  are  allowed  to 
do.  The  camp  authorities  say  that  as  there  is  a 
Catholic  and  a  Protestant  service  inside  the 
camp  for  American  prisoners  once  a  month  they 
do  not  need  to  attend  the  city  churches. 

Correspondence  and  parcels:  They  make  no 
complaint  regarding  letters,  but  say  that  as  the 
service  of  the  camp  is  not  well  organized  and 
the  storehouses  not  sufficiently  large,  the  par- 
cels sometimes  are  not  distributed  for  three 
days.  They  usually  take  a  month  to  come, 
those  sent  from  Switzerland  or  their  own  coun- 
try arriving  in  good  condition,  although  those 
sent  from  other  camps  in  Germany  are  usually 
minus  part  of  their  contents.  They  want  the 
parcel  distribution  service  in  the  camp  reor- 
ganized; also  would  like  to  know  the  reasons 
when  a  letter  is  not  passed  by  the  censor.  The 
authorities  of  the  camp  promised  this  would  be 
attended  to. 

Treatment:  They  have  no  complaint  as  to  the 
treatment  received  in  the  camp,  their  relations 
with  the  authorities  being  good. 

Punishments:  Lieutenant  Vaughan  considers 
75 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

the  punishment  he  received  of  six  days'  arrest 
for  having  written  the  word  "Boche"  in  his 
diary  as  excessive.  The  German  authorities 
stated  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  pun- 
ished because  he  always  used  the  word  "Boche  " 
in  referring  to  Germans  in  his  diary. 
The  prisoners  expressed  the  following  desires : 

1.  Desire  necessary  measures  be  taken  to 
avoid  lack  of  proper  heating  when  the  cold 
weather  comes,  as  happened  last  winter  accord- 
ing to  the  accounts  of  Russian  officers  who  were 
interned  in  this  camp.  (A.)  Last  winter  the  coal 
was  very  scarce,  but  during  the  coming  cold 
season,  they  are  to  receive  the  same  amount  as 
the  civilian  population  and  the  heating  will  be 
better. 

2.  Ask  for  more  orderlies,  since  at  present 
there  is  only  one  for  twenty  officers;  also  that 
they  shall  be  Americans,  if  possible,  or  at  least 
Understand  English,  since  there  are  Russians 
among  their  present  orderlies  who  understand 
neither  English  nor  French,  which  makes  com- 
munication with  them  very  difficult.  (A.)  Seven 
American  orderlies  are  expected  who  will  be 
used  here. 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

3.  That  the  payment  of  checks  may  be  has- 
tened, since  six  weeks  passed  between  handing 
them  in  at  the  Kommandantur  and  the  receipt 
of  the  money.  (A.)  They  cannot  be  paid  until 
there  is  a  guarantee  that  the  banks  on  which 
they  are  drawn  have  the  amount  in  said  ac- 
counts, since  payment  has  been  made  and  it 
was  afterwards  found  that  the  money  was  not 
in  the  banks  referred  to  (this  in  the  case  of  cer- 
tain merchant  marine  officers). 

4.  Complain    that    when    made    prisoners, 
German  soldiers,  even  officers,  took  from  them 
watches,  rings,  shoes,  and  other  private  prop- 
erty. 

5.  In   the  Karlsruhe  Camp,   their  leather 
belts,  their  own  property,  were  confiscated. 

6.  In  the  Landshut  Camp,  Officers  Wardell, 
Meelen,   Strong,   and  Jueker  were  punished 
with  thirty-one  days'  arrest  for  attempt  to  es- 
cape,   while    French    officers    only    received 
twenty-eight  days  for  the  same  offense,  and 
they  consider  it  unjust  that  American  officers 
should  be  more  harshly  punished  in  the  same 
camp. 

The  interview  with  the  prisoners  took  place 
77 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

in  the  presence  of  the  official  representative  of 
inspection. 

The  impression  of  the  delegates  in  regard  to 
this  camp  is  satisfactory,  except  that  they 
would  like  to  have  an  infirmary  established 
there. 

Physician 

Physician 

Stuttgart,  September  28,  1918 

VILLINGEN  CAMP 
(Extract  from  Report  by May  31,  1918) 

The  general  aspect  of  the  American  prison- 
ers was  good,  which  is  especially  due,  as  they 
reported,  to  the  packages  which  they  receive 
from  their  country. 

Prices  in  Canteen:  Cigars,  25  to  80  pfg.  each; 
cigarettes  from  8  to  10  pfg.  each;  matches,  8 
pfg.  a  box;  pipe  tobacco,  90  pfg.  a  package; 
sardines,  1.80  a  box;  olives,  i.io  a  box. 

BRANDENBURG  CAMP 
(Visited  October  2,  1918) 

There  were  seventeen  Americans  in  this 
camp,  which  has  been  described  in  previous  re- 

78 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

ports,  and  seventeen  others  were  distributed  in 
working  detachments. 

They  all  belonged  to. crews  of  merchant  ves- 
sels and  their  names  were  given  the  Spanish 
Embassy  after  a  previous  visit.  There  was  but 
one  newcomer,  who  arrived  two  months  ago: 
Mr.  David  Johnson,  of  the  S.S.  Atlantic  Sun, 
torpedoed  by  a  submarine. 

In  conversing  with  the  prisoners  I  was  told 
that  on  the  1 5th  of  August  last  they  wrote  to 
the  Spanish  Embassy  requesting  that  a  visit  be 
made  to  them  and  protesting  that  the  letter 
had  not  yet  reached  its  destination. 

They  protested  that  Petty  Officer,  Mr.  John 
Francis  Murphy,  of  the  M.S.S.  Jacob  Jones, 
was  forced  to  work  in  the  Holzmann  Detach- 
ment of  Doberitz  in  spite  of  his  rank.  The  same 
thing  happened  to  Foreman  Walter  W.  Perkins, 
of  the  Esmeralda,  who  was  forced  to  work  on 
the  railways. 

Two  Americans  were  working  in  the  Victoria 
II  coal  mine  in  Senftenberg  and  they  com- 
plained that  the  work  was  very  hard.  They 
asked  that  the  delegates  at  the  Berne  Confer- 
ence should  be  telegraphed  to  make  an  arrange- 

79 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ment  by  which  American  prisoners  should  not 
be  called  upon  to  do  such  hard  work. 

Many  complained  of  the  poor  parcels  service. 
Out  of  720  parcels  sent  the  committee  since 
the  2d  of  April,  129  were  lost  or  disappeared 
during  transit.  Each  one  weighed  sixteen 
American  pounds.  Of  seven  parcels  which  the 
committee  sent  to  Mr.  Thomas  Durfee,  who 
was  working  in  the  Juterborg  Artillery  Depot, 
only  one  reached  him. 

The  German  sergeant  charged  with  the  par- 
cels service  has  recently  been  changed  and  it  is 
hoped  that  it  will,  in  future,  be  more  satisfac- 
tory. 

They  stated  that  they  wrote  to  the  American 
Red  Cross  last  March  asking  for  bandages  and 
medicines  for  stomach  troubles,  as  well  as  ton- 
ics, but  nothing  of  this  nature  has  as  yet  been 
received.  (Sent  but  stolen  in  transit.  C.P.D.) 

State  that  they  have  everything  they  require 
and  have  no  need  of  money  or  any  shipments  of 
a  special  nature. 

The  German  authorities  give  them  neither 
soap  nor  towels. 

There  is  no  cinematograph  in  operation  in 
80 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

this  camp.  The  men  would  like  the  one  installed 
put  in  working  order,  it  having  been  prohibited 
by  the  general  after  the  second  representation 
on  plea  of  danger  from  fire. 

State  that  the  German  authorities  erased 
two  names  from  the  list  of  American  prisoners 
lodged  here,  which  was  sent  by  the  committee 
to  the  Spanish  Embassy,  and  added  one  to  it. 
They  protested  that  the  two  (?)  added  by  the 
Germans  are  not  Americans,  whereas  the  one(?) 
excluded  from  list  is  American.  The  Ameri- 
can whose  name  was  excluded  is  Sam  Petrelli; 
the  two  added  by  the  Germans  who,  however, 
are  riot  Americans,  are  James  Samuels  and 
Sam  Judan. 

The  captain  of  the  Campana,  Mr.  Alfred 
Oliver,  and  Mr.  Richardson,  chief  mate  of  the 
Encore,  protest  that  a  German  sergeant  tried 
to  make  them  draw  the  cart  in  which  the  parcels 
are  taken  to  the  camp,  and  on  their  refusing  to 
do  so,  put  them  under  arrest  for  three  days. 
They  have  since  received  satisfaction,  since  the 
sergeant  was  transferred,  but  they  wish  the  in- 
cident to  be  communicated  to  their  govern- 
ment. 

81 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Mr.  Frederick  Jacobs,  sailor  of  the  Campana, 
has  swollen  legs.  He  is  now  occupied  peeling 
potatoes,  but,  when  the  swelling  goes  down, 
they  put  him  on  harder  tasks,  and  they  begin 
swelling  again. 

There  are  no  complaints  from  other  detach- 
ments where  Americans  are  working:  Branden- 
burg Railway,  2;  Holzmann  in  Doberitz,  8;  and 
Premnitz  Powder  Factory,  4. 

The  commander  representing  the  general  of 
the  camp  said  he  would  look  into  the  cases  of 
Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Perkins  and  if  they  really 
hold  the  rank  they  allege  they  will  be  relieved 
of  work. 

Parcels  are  not  lost  in  the  camp  and  the 
responsibility  must  rest  somewhere  en  route, 
either  in  Germany  or  before  crossing  the  fron- 
tier. Mr.  Durfee's  case,  only  one  parcel  out  of 
seven  being  received,  will  be  inquired  into  and 
proper  proceedings  will  be  taken  to  place  re- 
sponsibility. 

The  commander  will  endeavor  to  obtain  per- 
mission from  the  general  for  reopening  the  cine- 
matograph. Will  have  the  physician  specify  the 
class  of  work  Mr.  Jacobs  is  to  do. 

82 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

Opinion  of  the  Delegate:  The  loss  of  parcels  is 
so  frequent  and  so  great,  that  he  urges  ener- 
getic measures  in  regard  to  this  matter,  since 
the  service,  instead  of  improving,  is  becoming 
worse.  It  is  desirable  that  a  cinematograph  be 
installed  in  this  camp,  as  is  the  case  in  others. 
These  defects  corrected,  the  camp  will  produce 
a  favorable  impression. 


Medical  Captain 
Delegate  of 

Brandenburg,  October  2,  1918 

BRANDENBURG  CAMP 

(Visit  of  November  I,  1918,  by to  the 

prison  camp  at  Brandenburg,  3d  Army  Corps) 

There  are  twenty-eight  American  prisoners. 
The  lodging  of  these  leaves  something  to  be  de- 
sired. The  action  of  the  weather  has  depreciated 
all  the  huts,  the  roofs  of  which  present  several 
leaks.  This  is  made  all  the  more  noticeable  be- 
cause no  coal  is  provided  for  heating  the  place, 
and  each  man  has  only  two  blankets.  They 
complain  that  they  suffer  from  the  cold  and  we 
certify  that  the  temperature  of  the  dormitories 

83 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

was  not  comfortable.  There  was  only  one  light 
in  each  hut  and  the  corners  not  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  the  lamp  are  so  dark  that  in  or- 
der to  inspect  the  beds,  it  was  necessary  to  light 
a  wax  match.  They  receive  no  hot  water  to 
wash  themselves.  The  prisoners  said  that  the 
meals. were  not  to  their  taste  and  they  nour- 
ished themselves  on  the  food  sent  to  them. 


MERSEBURG  CAMP 

American  Report 
No.  62 

Two  electric  lights  have  been  placed  in  each 
barracks  since  March  ijth  and,  besides  the  two 
already  there,  a  gas  jet  outside  illuminates  the 
interior  somewhat. 

Prisoners:  Americans,  7  wounded;  French, 
2000;  Belgians,  21;  Portuguese,  25.  In  the  de- 
tachments there  are  also  14,000  French,  300 
Belgians,  and  173  Portuguese. 

Food:  The  biscuits  arrive  and  German  bread, 
of  good  quality,  is  also  given:  280  grs.  In  the 
canteen  some  vegetables  can  be  bought,  at 
prices  a  little  higher  than  among  the  people. 

Health:  There  are  eighty  Frenchmen  in  the 
84 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

infirmary  and  two  Belgians,  who  are  well  cared 
for  by  two  physicians.  There  are  also  three 
Italian  physicians. 

Correspondence:  They  are  now  receiving  let- 
ters of  August  15. 

Parcels:  The  prisoners  state  that  the  cars  in 
which  the  parcels  arrive  from  Switzerland,  are 
opened  in  their  presence  or  in  the  presence  of 
men  designated  by  them,  so  that  they  reach  the 
camp  in  the  same  state  as  they  left  Switzer- 
land. But  the  parcels  disappear  between  the 
camp  and  the  detachments,  the  chief  cause  be- 
ing robbery  on  the  railway,  since,  in  general, 
the  parcels  are  sent  to  the  station  and  taken 
away  by  the  prisoners  themselves.  When  it  has 
been  proven  that  the  loss  has  occurred  en  route, 
the  railway  companies  indemnify  the  prisoners. 

Amusements:  They  go  to  church  when  they 
like  and  also  have  a  theatre. 

The  American  prisoners  state  that  until  the 
aid  they  have  asked  for  arrives,  the  French  as- 
sist them,  giving  them  biscuits,  and  they  re- 
ceive two  soups  a  day  in  the  hospital  or  infir- 
mary. 

According  to  communication  of  August  29 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

from  the  American  Red  Cross  in  Berne,  each 
prisoner  should  very  shortly  receive  parcels 
which  are  en  route. 

The  prisoners  are  satisfied  with  the  camp 
treatment.  The  visit  occurred  in  the  presence 
of  an  official  representative  of  the  command- 
ant and  an  interpreter. 

The  impression  produced  by  the  camp  and 
the  state  of  the  prisoners  may  be  considered 
good^ 


Comandante   , 
Delegate  of  the 

Visited  6/9/18 

STRALKOWO  CAMP 

FIFTH  ARMY  CORPS 
(Visited  September  23,  1918) 

Effectives:  On  the  day  of  the  visit  there  were 
in  this  camp: 

H  759  French  prisoners,  19  of 
whom  are  assistants 
3  Belgians 
14  Serbians 
10  Americans 
Total      786 

86 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

Health:  Of  the  ten  Americans  who  are  tem- 
porarily in  this  camp,  seven  recently  left  the 
hospital  and  expect  to  be  sent  to  another  camp. 
Three  are  still  under  treatment  but  doing  well. 
Two  of  them  are  officers. 

They  have  a  douche  once  a  week,  one  thou- 
sand prisoners  being  able  to  take  one  daily. 
There  are  washing-machines  for  clothing  and 
sheets,  nine  laundry  machines,  two  centrifugal 
dryers,  and  two  electric  ironing  machines  of 
large  dimensions,  as  well  as  rinsing  coppers. 
The  laundry  installation  is  run  by  electricity  as 
well  as  the  pumps  which  supply  water  to  the 
camp. 

There  is  a  medical  visit  daily. 

Alimentation:  The  kitchen  has  twenty-eight 
boilers  served  by  twenty-four  Russian  and 
three  French  cooks.  The  French  cooking  is  done 
apart  from  that  of  the  Russians. 

They  receive  three  hundred  grs.  of  bread 
daily  and  have  meat  and  fish  once  a  week.  At 
other  times  tinned  food.  The  chief  food  is  bar- 
ley soup  in  the  morning.  At  noon,  potatoes, 
with  flour  and  tinned  food.  In  the  evening,  po- 
tatoes, carrots,  barley,  margarine,  and  extract 

87 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

of  bone.  The  prisoners  consider  the  food  insuf- 
ficient. 

Help  Committee:  Biscuits  are  received  from 
the  French  committee  and  tinned  goods  from 
the  English.  Two  days  ago  thirty  parcels,  with 
clothing,  tinned  foods,  and  tobacco  were  re- 
ceived. 

Mail:  They  have  been  prisoners  since  July 
and  have  received  no  mail. 

Canteen:  Lemonade  is  sold  at  0.25;  cigarettes 
at  0.42;  wine  at  2.50  the  glass  and  ten  marks  a 
bottle. 

Recreation:  On  Sunday  they  go  to  a  football 
field  and  have  a  cinematograph  where  they  pay 
fifty  centimes. 

Treatment:  Made  no  complaint. 

Infirmary:  The  following  prisoners  are  there: 

French 204 

Belgians I 

Serbians 4 

Americans 3 

Total 212 

The  American  officers  and  other  prisoners 
made  no  complaint  in  regard  to  the  treatment 
received  and  had  no  requests. 

88 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

General  requests:  Corporal  Lloyd  Gardner,  of 
the  CCC  no  Infantry,  asks  for  $100.00  for  the 
seven  companions  in  the  camp. 

General:  The  treatment  offers  nothing  to 
complain  of.  The  food  is  the  same  as  in  most  of 
the  camps.  The  infirmary  and  other  sanitary 
installations  of  disinfection,  laundry,  etc.,  are 
good  and  surgical  instruments  abundant. 

Paper  bandages  are  used,  as  in  all  infirma- 
ries, for  external  use  but  not  for  open  wounds, 
for  which  sterilized  gauze  is  used. 

In  regard  to  the  sale  of  bread,  the  Ameri- 
can prisoners  gave  no  information  whatsoever, 
this  being  done  by  the  French  who  stated  that 
bread  was  sold  in  the  camp  at  twenty  marks  for 
a  loaf  of  three  pounds  of  which  fact  the  German 
authorities  were  ignorant. 

(Sgd) 

Medical  Commander 


Medical  Captain 
.  Delegates  of 

Posen,  September  7,  1918 

P.S.  The  list  of  prisoners  is  being  awaited  to 
give  financial  aid. 

89 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

SKALMIERSCHUTZ  CAMP 

FIFTH  ARMY  CORPS 
(Visited  September  25,  1918) 
No.  58 

There  are  ten  Americans  in  this  camp,  who 
were  taken  prisoners  during  June  and  July  and 
transported  from  the  front  to  the  Skalmier- 
schutz  Hospital  for  attendance.  When  cured 
they  were  put  in  the  camp,  where  they  are 
at  present  awaiting  transfer  to  another  place. 
They  are  lodged  in  one  of  the  barracks  of  the 
Russian  block. 

Health  conditions:  There  is  no  one  in  the 
hospital.  The  medical  service  is  carried  on  by 
German  and  Russian  physicians.  In  the  infir- 
mary there  are  appliances  for  urgency  cases 
and  also  a  dentist. 

Alimentation:  They  receive  300  grs.  of 
bread  daily.  Meat:  100  grs.  a  week,  and  150 
tinned.  Fish:  250  grs.  Marmalade:  200  grs.; 
potatoes  3950  grs.,  and  50  grs.  of  margarine. 

Correspondence:  They  have  received  no  letters. 

Lodging:  In  a  semi-subterranean  barrack 
with  front  windows  and  skylights.  Beds  hastily 
constructed  of  boards  and  placed  along  the 

90 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

walls,  raised  above  the  floor.  Straw  mattress 
and  pillow  and  one  cover  during  the  present 
season.  Heating  in  winter  by  means  of  coal 
stoves  and  ovens.  There  is  no  artificial  light. 
Collective  cooking  done  by  Germans  and  Rus- 
sians. Bath,  disinfection,  and  laundry  service. 

Canteen:  Assorted:  cigarettes  with  variable 
prices,  fixed  by  the  authorities,  lemonade  and 
various  articles. 

Religious  service:  Catholic  and  Protestant 
each  fortnight. 

Amusements:  Walks,  sports,  library,  cine- 
matograph. 

Work:  None. 

Punishments:  There  have  been  none.  No 
complaint  has  been  made  in  regard  to  the 
treatment  of  the  authorities.  The  French  com- 
mittee has  been  helping  them  with  bread  and 
other  food.  Have  received  no  parcels  from 
home. 

Wishes  and  complaints  of  general  character: 
They  require  clothing  and  towels.  If  trans- 
ferred to  another  camp  they  would  like  to  be 
put  with  the  French.  Nine  of  the  prisoners 
would  like  to  have  $10.00  each. 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Impression  of  the  delegates:  The  impression 
obtained  from  the  visit  is  good,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  that  produced  by  the  barracks  where 
they  are  lodged,  and  the  Commander  of  the 
Camp  stated  that  they  were  to  be  transferred 
to  another  as  soon  as  it  was  finished. 
(Sgd) 

Medical  Captain 


Medical  Commander 
Delegates  of 

Posen,  September  27,  1918 

P.S.  The  list  of  the  prisoners  is  expected, 
when  financial  aid  will  be  given  them. 

(Extracts  from Report  on  Skalmierschutz 

Camp,  5th  Army  Corps,  visited  September  25,  1918) 

There  are  ten  Americans  in  this  camp.  They 
are  lodged  in  one  of  the  barracks  of  the  Russian 
block. 

They  receive  300  grs.  of  bread  daily;  meat, 
100  grs.  a  week  and  150  tinned;  fish,  250  grs.; 
marmalade,  200  grs. ;  potatoes,  3950  grs.,  and  50 
grs.  of  margarine. 

They  have  received  no  letters. 
92 


Reports  by  Neutral  Delegates 

Lodging  in  a  subterranean  barrack  with 
front  windows  and  skylights.  Beds  hastily  con- 
structed of  boards  and  placed  along  the  walls, 
raised  above  the  floor.  Straw  mattresses  and 
pillow  and  one  cover  during  the  present  season. 

American  prisoners  require  clothing  and 
towels. 

(Extracts  from   Report,  September  1 8, 

date  of  visit,  iyth  Army  Corps,  Schutzlazarett  Hospi- 
tal. Date  of  report  September  28,  1918) 

On  day  of  visit,  following  prisoners :  French, 
II  officers  and  219  privates;  Belgian,  4  pri- 
vates; American,  i  private. 

The  officers  are  suffering  from  wounds  re- 
ceived in  the  war  and  most  of  the  soldiers  from 
surgical  operations  and  inflammation;  some 
with  internal  affections. 

They  receive  400  grs.  of  bread  a  day,  500 
grs.  daily  of  potatoes,  and  300  grs.  of  meat 
weekly.  The  meals  have  vegetable  basis  and 
are  not  sufficiently  nutritious.  The  food  for  the 
day  consisted  of  carrots,  wheat  grains  mixed 
with  flour.  On  being  tried,  it  proved  to  be  badly 
cooked,  and  not  nourishing.  The  officers  would 
like  to  see  the  food  of  the  soldiers  improved. 

93 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Mail  is  very  irregular,  both  for  letters  and 
parcels. 

The  rooms  for  the  soldiers  are  well  lighted, 
but  with  poor  ventilation. 

There  is  no  complaint  except  of  the  food 
which  the  prisoners  consider  insufficient  and 
badly  cooked. 

They  want  more  water  taps  with  running 
water,  for  toilet  and  laundry  purposes,  but  the 
authorities  consider  those  at  present  existing  as 
sufficient. 

They  ask  for  better  food  and  also  permission 
to  make  the  coffins  for  their  comrades  who  die. 


Chapter  VIII 

ESCAPES 

VERY  naturally,  attempts  were  constantly 
made  by  prisoners  of  war  to  escape  from  the 
German  prison  camps,  and  most  of  those  who 
were  successful  made  for  the  Swiss  frontier.  At 
one  period  an  average  of  two  prisoners  a  day 
crossed  the  line,  and  many  interesting  stories 
were  told  by  these  men,  some  of  a  very  thrilling 
character. 

The  first  American  prisoner  to  escape  into 
Switzerland  from  a  German  prison  camp  was 
an  aviator  named  Everett  Buckley,  of  Chicago. 
Buckley  was  my  guest  for  several  days  and  per- 
sonally told  me  the  story  of  his  remarkable  es- 
cape. I  am  repeating  it  here  in  his  own  words: 

"I  was  attached  to  the  French  Escadrille 
N-6S-  During  an  early  combat,  I  was  shot 
down,  my  plane  being  damaged,  and  landed  on 
Dun-sur-Meuse  on  September  6,  1917.  My 
machine  was  upset  and  when  it  struck  the 
ground,  I  was  at  first  a  little  stunned.  How- 
ever, I  tried  to  follow  my  orders,  that  if  I  ever 

95 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

landed  in  enemy  territory,  I  must  immediately 
burn  my  machine  and  destroy  my  leather 
boots,  both  of  these  being  valuable  to  the  Ger- 
man military  forces.  While  endeavoring  to 
carry  out  these  orders,  I  was  knocked  down  by 
a  crowd  that  had  gathered.  I  was  being  pretty, 
roughly  used  when  a  German  military  officer 
rode  into  the  crowd  on  horseback,  slashing 
right  and  left  with  his  sabre  and  seriously  in- 
juring several  Germans.  There  is  no  question  in 
my  mind  that  I  owe  my  life  to  this  officer's  in- 
tervention, as  the  Germans  at  that  time  were 
very  bitter  about  the  aeroplanes  that  were  be- 
ginning to  drop  bombs  in  their  country.  They 
were  very  much  afraid  of  this  kind  of  warfare, 
the  example  for  which  they  themselves  had  set. 
In  saving  me,  however,  I  hardly  think  the  offi- 
cer was  actuated  by  any  humane  motives,  but 
rather  wanted  to  use  me  as  a  possible  source  of 
military  information.  Although  as  a  result  of 
this  experience  I  was  badly  bruised,  I  was  not 
severely  wounded,  and  I  was  never  seen  by  a 
doctor. 

"I  was  walked  to  a  small  village  and  taken  to 
an  old  house  where  I  was  questioned  by  Ger- 


EVERETT  BUCKLEY 

The  first  American  prisoner  to  escape  into  Switzerland.  He  was 
enlisted  with  the  French 


Escapes 

man  officers.  From  there  I  was  taken  to  the  for- 
tress of  Montmedy  where  I  was  kept  in  a  cell  for 
eighteen  days,  alone  most  of  the  time,  and  fed 
exclusively  on  bread  and  water.  After  being  in 
this  fortress  for  some  hours,  I  was  desperate  for 
a  cigarette.  Somehow  or  other,  I  had  managed 
to  retain  my  leather  belt,  and  motioning  to  the 
guard,  offered  it  to  him  in  exchange  for  a  ciga- 
rette. I  passed  the  belt  to  him  through  the  bars 
of  my  cell.  The  guard  took  it  and  spat  in  my 
face  in  return. 

"After  eighteen  days'  confinement  in  this 
fortress,  I  was  taken  to  the  so-called  c  Micro- 
phone hotel '  at  Karlsruhe.  At  that  time  I  had 
no  knowledge  of  this  hotel,  but  it  has  since  be- 
come famous  and  is  now  well  known  to  the 
various  captured  officers  and  aviators.  Here  I 
was  placed  in  a  room  and  given  supper  with 
several  other  Allied  officers,  English  and 
French.  In  running  my  hand  underneath  the 
table  at  supper,  I  found  a  card  pinned  there  on 
which  was  written:  'Be  careful,  there  is  a  dicta- 
phone in  the  lamp.'  Over  the  centre  table  was  a 
large  hanging  lamp,  and  upon  investigation,  a 
dictaphone  was  discovered.  It  seems  that  the 

97 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

German  idea  is  to  obtain  military  information 
by  placing  Allied  officers  together  in  this  room 
soon  after  their  capture,  giving  them  a  good 
meal,  in  the  expectation  that  during  the  meal, 
they  would  exchange  experiences  and  discuss 
matters  which  might  yield  valuable  military 
information  as  to  the  location  of  military  units. 

"At  the  end  of  five  days,  I  was  taken  to  the 
prison  camp  near  Karlsruhe.  It  is  an  officers' 
camp  and  I  stayed  there  six  weeks.  Although  I 
was  not  physically  ill-treated,  I  was  insulted, 
sneered  at  and  constantly  called  all  sorts  of 
names,  on  account  of  my  being  an  American 
volunteer.  I  was  told  that  I  had  no  business  in 
the  war  and  had  better  be  dead.  This  was  said 
to  me  by  a  German  officer  through  an  inter- 
preter. 

"From  Karlsruhe  I  was  sent  to  Heuberg,  at 
the  head  of  the  Black  Forest,  where  I  remained 
in  a  camp  for  two  months.  I  escaped  from  this 
camp  by  breaking  through  the  fence.  I  man- 
aged to  reach  the  frontier,  but  was  caught  just 
as  I  was  going  over.  They  sent  me  back  to  Heu- 
berg where  I  was  threatened  several  times  with 
a  bayonet  because  I  refused  to  do  road-making 


Escapes 

in  an  artillery  fort.  The  presence  of  other  pris- 
oners at  the  tune  was  the  only  thing  that  saved 
my  life. 

"The  next  place  to  which  I  was  sent  was 
Donaueschingen,  where  I  was  put  to  work  on  a 
farm.  After  two  days,  I  escaped  from  a  field.  I 
ran  about  five  kilometres  when  I  came  to  the 
Da,nube  and  was  unable  to  cross.  Once  more 
they  caught  me  and  sent  me  back  to  Heuberg. 
I  was  placed  in  prison  for  thirty-one  days, 
where  I  was  given  two  hundred  grammes  of 
bread  a  day,  with  water,  and  a  plate  of  soup 
every  fifth  day.  They  permitted  me  to  go  out 
and  wash  and  get  my  drinking-water.  At  the 
termination  of  my  prison  sentence,  I  stayed  ten 
days  in  the  camp  at  Heuberg  and  was  then  sent 
to  Varingenstadt  on  a  farm.  I  remained  there 
one  day.  That  night  I  cut  the  bars  out  of  a  win- 
dow and  escaped  with  seven  other  prisoners. 
Although  I  managed  to  get  as  far  as  Bolhlege,  I 
was  again  caught  by  a  sentry  and  sent  back  to 
Heuberg,  which  meant  another  thirty-one  days 
in  prison  as  before. 

"Having  completed  my  sentence,  I  was  sent 
back  to  Varingenstadt  and  placed  on  another 

99 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

farm.  It  was  here  that  I  received  much  ill- 
treatment.  I  said  that  I  was  ill,  and  made  out  I 
was  more  ill  than  I  really  was,  because  I  had  in 
mind  to  attempt  another  escape.  I  requested  to 
see  a  doctor.  They  sent  for  the  sentry  who  came 
and  called  me  every  name  he  could  think  of, 
the  doctor  being  in  a  village  twelve  kilometres 
away.  As  the  sentry  did  not  care  to  walk  this 
distance,  he  refused  to  let  me  go,  but  I  insisted 
and  finally  the  guard  started  out  with  me.  The 
minute  he  got  me  outside  of  the  first  village, 
the  guard  began  kicking  me  and  knocked  me 
down  three  times  with  the  butt  of  his  rifle.  In 
fact,  the  guard  literally  kicked  me  the  whole 
twelve  kilometres. 

"To  spare  themselves  the  effort  of  actually 
kicking,  the  guards  have  devised  an  ingenious 
method.  They  hang  the  rifle  by  the  strap  over 
the  shoulder  with  the  butt  down,  hanging  be- 
tween the  thigh  and  the  knee.  They  then  walk 
behind  the  prisoner  and  from  time  to  time 
throw  the  butt  violently  forward,  which  ad- 
ministers a  severe  blow  to  the  unfortunate 
prisoner.  When  we  reached  the  village,  the 
guard  saw  the  doctor  first  and  evidently  told 

100 


Escapes 

him  things  about  me  because  when  I  entered,  I 
was  not  examined,  but  sent  back  immediately. 
All  the  way  back  to  the  camp,  the  sentry  ill- 
treated  me  in  the  same  manner  as  he  did  com- 
ing out.  When  we  got  back  to  the  barracks,  he 
again  came  in  to  see  me  but  was  evidently 
afraid  to  come  alone;  he  brought  a  civilian  with 
him  and  they  both  kicked  me  and  knocked  me 
down  several  times.  I  was  kept  in  the  barracks 
about  two  hours,  and  when  the  rest  of  the 
French  prisoners  came  back,  they  made  a  com- 
plaint to  the  Burgomaster  of  the  village.  One 
Frenchman  who  was  ill  saw  the  sentry  kick  me. 
The  sentinel  told  the  Burgomaster  that  I  was  a 
liar  and  that  he  had  never  touched  me.  I  then 
made  a  complaint  and  sent  it  to  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Camp  at  Heuberg,  but  never 
heard  anything  of  it. 

"In  July,  1918,  I  was  sent  on  a  working 
Kommando  into  a  hayfield.  On  the  edge  of  the 
field  there  was  a  wooded  hill,  with  the  timber 
running  down  to  the  field.  About  three  o'clock 
one  afternoon,  I  saw  an  opportunity  to  escape. 
I  gradually  edged  over  to  the  wooded  hill,  and 
at  an  opportune  moment,  dropped  my  pitch- 

101 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

fork  and  made  a  dash  for  the  woods.  My  escape 
was  discovered  immediately  and  about  twenty 
people  joined  in  the  chase.  The  guards  were 
very  much  surprised  and  shot  wild,  which  en- 
abled me  to  reach  cover  safely.  There  I  hid  until 
things  had  quieted  down  a  bit.  Knowing  that 
dogs  would  be  used  to  follow  my  trail,  I  secured 
some  wild  garlic  and  thoroughly  rubbed  my 
boots  with  it.  I  then  walked  for  six  nights  with 
nothing  to  eat  but  raw  potatoes.  I  had  pre- 
viously provided  myself  with  a  map  and  a  com- 
pass, which  I  had  secreted  on  my  person,  and 
set  my  course  for  the  Swiss  frontier  some  sev- 
enty-five miles  distant.  I  hid  in  the  daytime 
and  traveled  only  at  night. 

"On  the  morning  of  July  27  (1918),  I  ar- 
rived near  the  Swiss  border.  Here  I  found  three 
lines  of  guards  stationed,  and  patrols  with  dogs 
passing  up  and  down  between  them.  I  crawled 
out  into  a  wheat-field  and  carefully  studied  the 
situation  all  day  long,  preparing  my  course  and 
plans  to  pass  between  the  guards  that  night. 
Fortunately,  it  rained  very  hard  at  night  and 
it  was  very  dark.  At  half-past  ten,  I  began  my 
painful  journey,  crawling  on  my  stomach*  I 

102 


Escapes 

tied  my  shoes  about  my  neck  so  they  would  not 
scrape  on  any  object,  stuffed  my  handkerchief 
in  my  mouth  so  the  dogs  would  not  hear  me 
breathe,  and  rubbed  myself  thoroughly  with 
wild  garlic  so  the  dogs  would  not  smell  me. 
These  preliminaries  over,  I  wriggled  along 
slowly  and  painfully  until  I  saw  the  dim  outline 
of  the  first  sentry.  I  then  worked  away  from 
this  sentry  to  a  point  where  I  could  pass  by 
him,  and  then  wriggled  along  until  I  came  in 
sight  of  the  second  sentry.  By  following  this 
plan,  I  succeeded  in  getting  by  all  three  sen- 
tries. I  then  walked  until  I  came  to  a  signboard 
and  found  that  I  was  at  Ramsen  in  Switzer- 
land. The  first  people  I  met  were  two  musicians. 
They  took  me  to  the  military  police  where  I  was 
questioned.  The  police  then  took  me  to  a  train 
at  Stein  and  I  changed  for  Schaffhausen.  Dur- 
ing the  trip,  I  had  worn  my  clothes  almost  en- 
tirely off  below  the  waist.  At  Schaffhausen  a 
French  Swiss  gave  me  a  rough  suit  of  clothes,  a 
pair  of  shoes,  a  cap,  dinner,  and  bed.  I  arrived 
in  Berne  on  July  28.  The  American  Red  Cross 
at  Berne  fitted  me  out  with  new  clothing  and 
gave  me  money.  I  then  returned  to  France." 

103 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

The  second  prisoner  to  escape  was  Thomas 
Hitchcock,  Jr.,  of  New  York. 

Hitchcock  was  an  American  attached  to  a 
French  flying  corps.  He  had  been  saving  up 
food  in  anticipation  of  an  attempt  to  escape. 
When  being  transferred  from  Lechfeld  to  a 
new  prison  camp,  he  and  two  other  aviators 
were  put  in  charge  of  an  old  German  guard 
during  the  journey.  They  were  traveling  in  an 
ordinary  passenger  coach,  and  each  had  his 
personal  belongings  in  a  haversack.  As  they 
drew  into  the  station  at  Ulm,  the  German 
guard  was  examining  a  railroad  map.  Hitchcock 
had  a  compass  in  his  possession,  but  did  not 
have  the  map  which  was  so  essential  to  a  suc- 
cessful escape.  The  German  guard  could  not 
understand  English.  Hitchcock  told  his  com- 
panions to  pretend  to  be  asleep,  and  he  did  the 
same,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  German  guard 
dozed  off.  Reaching  over  very  quietly,  Hitch- 
cock took  the  railroad  map  from  the  guard. 
When  the  train  was  leaving  the  station  at  Ulm, 
the  guard  reached  for  his  map  and,  of  course, 
found  it  missing.  Realizing  that  his  opportu- 
nity was  then  or  never,  Hitchcock  arose,  opened 

104 


THOMAS  HITCHCOCK,  JR. 

As  he  appeared  on  his  escape  from  Germany 


Escapes 

the  door  of  the  coach,  and  jumped  out.  The 
train  had  already  started  to  pull  out  of  the 
station,  and  Hitchcock  rushed  into  the  bushes 
by  the  railroad  track.  The  German  guard  did 
not  dare  to  run  after  him  on  account  of  the 
other  two  prisoners  who  were  under  his  care. 
He  cried  out,  but  the  train  continued  to  move 
and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

From  then  on,  Hitchcock  had  a  remarkably 
easy  escape.  He  walked  approximately  seventy 
miles  out  of  Germany,  and  during  the  entire 
journey  never  saw  but  one  German  soldier.  He 
slept  during  the  day  and  walked  at  night,  fol- 
lowing his  map  and  compass.  It  was  not  easy  to 
tell  when  he  crossed  the  border,  but  he  finally 
found  a  sign-post,  and  when  he  realized  that  he 
was  in  Switzerland,  he  said  that  he  fell  on  his 
knees  and  thanked  God. 

Hitchcock  was  fitted  out  at  the  American 
Red  Cross  stores,  spent  several  days  in  Berne, 
and  then  returned  to  France. 

One  of  the  most  sensational  escapes  was  that 
of  Lieutenant  Pilot  Harold  Willis,  of  New- 
ton, Massachusetts,  and  Lieutenant  Edouard 

105. 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Victor   M.    Isaacs,   U.S.N.,  of   Portsmouth, 
Virginia. 

Lieutenant  Willis  was  born  on  February  9, 

1890,  and  early  in  the  war  enlisted  in  the  Amer- 
ican Ambulance  Service  at  the  front  with  the 
French  Army.  Later,  he  joined  the  famous 
"Lafayette  Escadrille,"   and   achieved   some 
notable  aerial  victories.  While  flying  a  Spad 
monoplane,  a  chase  machine,  he  was  shot  down 
on  August  1 8,  1917.  The  American  Red  Cross 
at  Berne  was  advised  in  September  that  Willis 
was  a  prisoner  at  Karlsruhe.  Later,  he  was 
alternately  reported  at  Landshut,  Giitersloh, 
Eutin,  Bad  Stuer,  and  finally  at  Villingen. 

Lieutenant  Isaacs  was  born  on  December  18, 

1891.  He  was  assigned  to  the  U.S.S.  President 
Lincoln  and  was  on  that  ship  when  it  was  tor- 
pedoed on  May  31,  1918,  off  the  French  coast. 
For  several  days  he  lived  on  the  submarine  and 
was  later  in  the  prison  camps  at  Karlsruhe  and 
Villingen. 

Upon  arriving  at  Berne  after  his  sensa- 
tional escape  from  Camp  Villingen,  Lieuten- 
ant Willis  told  the  American  Red  Cross  the 
experiences  of  Lieutenant  Isaacs  and  himself, 

106 


Escapes 

and  his  account  is  given  below  in  his  own 
words : 

"When  I  was  shot  down  at  Dun  on  the 
Meuse,  I  was  taken  by  German  aviation  offi- 
cers to  their  quarters  where  I  was  given  break- 
fast. I  was  glad  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
aviation  officers,  for  German  infantry  maltreat 
captured  aviators  whenever  they  have  the  op- 
portunity. 

"Later  I  was  taken  to  the  fortress  of  Mont- 
medy  where  I  was  imprisoned  for  three  weeks 
with  other  French  officers.  We  were  under  the 
constant  surveillance  of  German  spies  who 
posed  as  French  prisoners.  We  had  been  warned 
not  to  talk,  however,  by  other  French  officers. 

"From  Montmedy  I  was  taken  to  the  famous 
'Microphone  hotel'  at  Karlsruhe.  We  had  often 
heard  of  this  hotel  in  the  Lafayette  Escadrille 
and  so  did  little  talking  of  military  matters, 
knowing  that  every  word  was  being  transmit- 
ted by  dictaphones  to  German  listeners. 

"French  and  British  officers  were  put  in  the 
same  room  with  me  in  order  that  we  might 
talk  together,  but  we  were  all  'wise'  and  talked 
about  everything  except  the  war.  Underneath 

107 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

the  tables  in  these  rooms  we  found  notices  in 
all  languages  from  other  prisoners  who  had  been 
placed  in  the  rooms  warning  us  of  the  presence 
of  dictaphones. 

"Lieutenant  Savage,  a  French  officer,  found 
two  microphones  underneath  the  wall-paper  in 
the  room  in  which  we  were  confined.  He  pulled 
the  microphones  out,  wire  and  all.  Immediately 
the  listeners  came  rushing  in  in  a  furious  rage. 
Lieutenant  Savage  was  severely  punished. 

"Next,  I  was  sent  to  the  aviation  distribu- 
tion camp  at  Landshut,  Bavaria.  There  I  was 
subjected  to  a  very  severe  search.  My  skin, 
mouth,  ears,  and  hair  were  minutely  examined. 
Acids  were  poured  on  my  body  to  bring  out 
suspected  secret  communications  in  invisible 
ink.  My  shoes  and  clothing  were  taken  to 
pieces.  Even  the  Croix  de  Guerre  on  my  tunic 
was  ripped  off .  A  map  and  compass  which  I  had 
were  taken  away  from  me. 

"At  Landshut  I  was  quarantined  for  a 
month  and  inoculated  against  cholera,  typhoid 
and  scarlet  fever.  There  I  was  visited  by  an 
alleged  Luxembourg  count  who  claimed  to 
represent  the  Red  Cross.  He  offered  to  lend  me 

108 


Escapes 

money  and  evinced  an  unusual  curiosity  about 
the  front.  We  had  received  warning  about  him 
while  still  fighting  with  the  Lafayette  Esca- 
drille,  and  when  he  called,  laughed  in  his  face. 

"After  my  stay  at  Landshut,  I  was  sent  to 
Giitersloh,  which  is  about  one  hundred  kilo- 
metres from  the  Dutch  frontier.  During  my 
stay  in  Bavaria,  I  observed  that  all  the  German 
states  do  not  suffer  the  same  privations.  At 
Giitersloh  we  were  reasonably  well  fed  and  had 
meat,  enough  bread  and,  in  addition,  beer. 

"I  was  the  first  American  to  arrive  at  Gii- 
tersloh where  there  were  about  six  hundred 
French  and  twelve  hundred  Russians.  Every 
one  was  very  kind  to  me  and  gave  me  food  and 
clothing.  The  clothing  I  badly  needed  at  the 
time.  My  stay  at  Giitersloh  was  the  pleasantest 
in  any  of  the  many  prison  camps  where  I  was 
imprisoned. 

"We  had  a  Rugby  team,  a  good  hockey 
team,  a  French  theatre,  university  study 
courses,  moving  pictures  every  night  and  games 
of  all  sorts.  This  treatment  was  too  good  to 
last.  Suddenly  all  the  French  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  camp  en  masse.  As  I  was  in  the 

109 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

French  Army  I  was  removed  with  them.  We 
were  taken  to  a  military  caserne  at  Eutin,  Hoi- 
stein,  north  of  Liibeck. 

"This  camp  was  commanded  by  the  most 
brutal  type  of  Prussian  officers.  Our  exercise 
was  limited  to  half  the  courtyard  of  the  caserne. 
We  were  crowded  into  rooms  without  electric 
light  or  illumination  and  where  there  was  no 
provision  for  cooking  our  own  food.  The  food 
supplied  by  the  Germans  was  uneatable  with 
the  exception  of  the  potatoes.  To  cap  our  mis- 
ery, the  parcels  which  we  had  been  receiving 
from  France  were  stopped  early  in  December. 

"My  chum  and  myself  saved  up  a  tin  of 
corned  beef  during  the  whole  month  of  Decem- 
ber in  order  that  we  might  have  a  good  Christ- 
mas dinner.  At  the  beginning  of  the  new  year, 
things  became  worse.  The  full  reprisal  pro- 
gramme was  enforced.  All  water  was  cut  off  at 
9  A.M.  and  we  were  permitted  to  have  a  fire  for 
only  two  hours  daily.  The  number  of  officers  in  a 
room  was  doubled  and  beds  were  superimposed 
in  three  tiers.  Study  classes,  music,  and  athlet- 
ics were  forbidden.  The  electric  lights  which 
they  had  given  us  in  the  first  weeks  of  January 

no 


Escapes 

were  extinguished  at  8  P.M.  and  we  were  forced 
to  go  to  bed  at  that  hour.  We  were  not  per- 
mitted to  walk  in  the  corridors  and  were  con- 
fined in  our  overcrowded  rooms  under  condi- 
tions which  would  not  be  permitted  in  prisons 
in  America. 

"We  at  once  commenced  making  plans  to 
escape.  We  made  all  arrangements  for  short- 
circuiting  the  electric  lights  and  during  the  day 
spent  our  time  copying  maps.  In  February, 
enough  parcels  came  so  that  we  could  save  up 
enough  food  for  our  trip.  We  made  our  attempt 
to  escape  in  the  middle  of  March. 

"Twelve  French  officers  volunteered  to  help 
us  out  by  putting  the  electric  light  system  out 
of  order  and  by  distracting  the  guards.  We  also 
made  false  keys  to  the  doors  going  out  of  our 
building  and  made  metal  keys  from  plaster 
moulds.  We  also  made  ladders  to  climb  over 
the  first  wall  and  wire-cutters  to  cut  the  outer 
barbed  wire. 

"The  night  of  the  attempt  to  escape  came. 
We  got  out  of  the  buildings  unobserved  by  the 
inner  guards  and  grouped  ourselves  behind  the 
first  wall.  At  a  given  signal,  the  powerful  light- 

iii 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ing  system  was  put  out  of  commission  as 
planned.  One  of  the  men  of  the  escaping  team 
had  shown  himself  to  the  exterior  guard  a  sec- 
ond before  the  lights  were  put  out  in  time  to 
give  the  alarm,  so  that  when  we  arrived  at  the 
outer  barbed  wire  and  started  to  cut  through 
with  our  wire  clippers,  the  guards  were  ready 
for  us.  Three  of  the  team  were  captured  and 
disappeared.  We  did  not  see  them  again.  Three 
others  succeeded  in  getting  out,  but  were  recap- 
tured and  brought  back  to  our  building. 

"Shortly  after  this  disappointment,  thanks 
to  the  intervention  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment through  the  Spanish  Embassy,  I  was  sent 
to  the  small  camp  of  Bad  Stuer  in  Mecklen- 
burg. Here  General  Five  of  the  Belgian  Army, 
1 20  Russian  officers,  and  myself  shared  accom- 
modations. 

"At  this  camp  were  a  number  of  Roumanian 
officers  who,  soon  after  their  brave  country  en- 
tered the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies,  deserted 
to  the  Germans.  There  were  a  few  other  Rou- 
manian officers  in  the  camp  and  these  treated 
the  German-Roumanians  with  the  scorn  they 
deserved.  When  Roumania  was  so  unfortu- 

112 


Escapes 

nately  forced  to  drop  out  of  the  war,  the  grief 
of  these  patriotic  Roumanian  officers  was  piti- 
able. 

"The  pro-German  Roumanians,  however, 
began  spying  and  reporting  on  all  our  move- 
merits  and  conversations.  Their  conduct  be- 
came so  arrogant  that  General  Five,  aged  as  he 
is,  challenged  them  one  after  the  other  to  duels. 
Not  one  of  them  accepted.  Cowards  that  they 
were,  they  reported  to  the  German  command- 
ant that  General  Five  had  threatened  their 
lives.  I  think  the  German  commandant  se- 
cretly rather  loathed  these  renegades  and  that 
perhaps  he  unofficially  admired  old  General 
Five. 

"At  Bad  Stuer,  conditions  were  much  less 
rigorous  than  at  other  German  prison  camps. 
In  fact,  they  were  quite  exceptional.  We  were 
allowed  to  walk  where  we  wished  in  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  as  well  as  to  take  a  plunge  in 
the  lake  in  front  of  the  camp  before  breakfast, 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  In  June,  we 
were  permitted  to  buy  fishing  licenses  and  to 
fish  in  the  evening  in  the  lake.  We  gave  our 
word  of  honor  that  we  would  not  try  to  escape. 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

The  camp  was  an  old  summer  hotel  and  was 
quite  tolerable. 

"On  July  I,  we  were  given  two  hours'  notice 
to  pack  up  for  the  prison  camp  at  Villingen.  We 
traveled  first-class  and  were  even  permitted  to 
talk  to  German  civilians  on  the  train.  That  was 
when  Germany  was  winning.  At  the  end  of  the 
first  day's  journey,  we  were  locked  up  in  the 
dungeon  of  the  fortress  of  Magdeburg.  The  sec- 
ond night  we  spent  in  the  old  fortress  of  Mari- 
enburg  above  the  city  of  Wiirzburg. 

"Finally  we  reached  Villingen.  Imagine  my 
delight  in  seeing  Americans  again  after  being 
deprived  of  American  news  or  American  gossip 
after  more  than  a  year  in  prison  camps  with 
soldiers  of  other  nationalities.  At  the  time  I  ar- 
rived at  Villingen,  there  were  only  two  or  three 
militia  officers  and  a  few  American  doctors  cap- 
tured with  the  British  troops.  Compared  with 
other  officers'  camps  which  I  have  been  in  and 
heard  about  while  in  Germany,  Villingen  ranks 
decidedly  low.  We  were  confined  in  a  small  sort 
of  pen  of  huts  where  one  could  not  see  out.  The 
barracks  in  which  we  were  confined  surrounded 
an  inner  pen. 

114 


Escapes 

"The  sanitary  conditions  are  indescribable 
at  Villingen.  I  cannot  emphasize  this  point  too 
much.  Villingen  is  a  synonym  for  filth.  The 
whole  camp  is  alive  with  fleas  and  vermin  of  all 
sorts.  Even  the  German  commandant's  office  is 
infested  with  crawlers.  All  the  bug  powder,  the 
disinfectant  sprinkled  about,  seemed  to  have 
no  effect.  The  Russian  soldiers  there  lived  un- 
der indescribable  conditions.  The  conditions 
from  a  sanitary  standpoint  were  the  worst  I 
have  ever  seen. 

"When  the  so-called  Spanish  grippe  broke 
out  among  the  Russian  soldiers,  it  instantly 
spread  to  the  Americans.  The  well  slept  in  beds 
two  feet  from  the  sick.  No  attempt  at  isolation 
was  made  by  the  German  authorities.  Thanks 
to  the  good  physical  condition  of  the  Americans 
and  to  the  solid,  upbuilding  food  we  received 
regularly  from  the  American  Red  Cross  pack- 
ing-houses at  Berne,  Switzerland,  we  Ameri- 
cans pulled  through  the  plague  without  any 
deaths  among  us.  The  Russians  were  hard  hit 
and  suffered  much.  Two  died  in  a  room  next 
to  us. 
"The  Commander  of  the  Camp  was  a  per- 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

feet  type  of  Prussian  colonel,  who,  although  not 
actually  malicious,  believed  in  the  iron  fist  in 
every  sense  of  the  word.  He  absolutely  refused 
to  take  the  responsibility  for  the  slightest  im- 
provement in  sanitary  conditions  or  to  grant 
the  slightest  request  which  might  have  made 
life  easier  for  us.  When  forced  by  orders  from 
his  superiors  to  grant  us  certain  concessions,  he 
did  so  with  reluctance. 

"However,  there  were  certain  bright  fea- 
tures in  our  life.  The  arrival  of  the  American 
Red  Cross  food  boxes  from  Berne  was  an  event. 
Invariably  cheers  broke  out  when  they  arrived, 
and  this  cheering  used  to  make  the  guards 
somewhat  nervous,  especially  those  outside  the 
camp  who  perhaps  did  not  know  what  it  was  all 
about. 

"The  Y.M.C.A.  did  splendid  work  to  help 
us.  The  'Y'  sent  us  a  wonderful  assortment  of 
books  of  all  sorts.  The  books  have  been  cata- 
logued and  are  well  looked  after.  The  gram- 
mars were  much  appreciated  by  the  men,  and 
the  way  the  light  and  serious  literature  had 
been  chosen  called  forth  much  favorable  com- 
ment. 

116 


Escapes 

"In  addition,  the  CY'  sent  us  sporting  goods 
of  all  sorts.  These  sporting  goods  meant  a  tre- 
mendous lot  to  us.  The  camp  at  Villingen  is  so 
small  that  the  boys  cannot  play  indoor  baseball 
or  football,  but  we  got  along  passably  with 
basket-ball  and  volley-ball.  Teams  were  play- 
ing these  two  games  all  day  long. 

"In  addition,  there  were  a  couple  of  pianos 
in  the  camp,  and  a  mandolin.  Some  of  the  boys 
were  taking  German  lessons,  and  the  Russian 
officers  gave  lessons  in  French.  Some  of  the 
American  doctors  were  able  to  procure  works 
on  professional  subjects  and  made  profitable 
use  of  their  time. 

"The  camp  at  Villingen,  though  badly  ar- 
ranged, is  in  a  delightful  situation  on  the  edge 
of  the  Schwarzwald.  During  the  summer  we 
were  able  to  buy  salad,  onions,  beans,  and  fresh 
vegetables  of  all  sorts.  This  would  have  been 
impossible  in  a  North  German  camp. 

"One  of  the  amusing  features  of  camp  life  at 
Villingen  was  the  presence  there  of  five  or  six 
old  sea  skippers  who  were  taken  off  sailing  boats 
in  mid-Pacific  and  from  as  far  south  as  New 
Zealand  by  the  German  raider  Wolf.  These 

117 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

old  boys  were  great  yarn  spinners  and  kept  the 
boys  roaring  with  laughter  at  their  quaint  ex- 
pressions and  tall  stories.  I  don't  know  what  we 
would  have  done  without  them  to  cheer  us  up. 
Old  'Dad  Moore'  was  the  only  one  who  got 
grumpy.  Dad  said  the  other  old  salts  had  noth- 
ing to  complain  of  as  far  as  food  and  clothes  are 
concerned,  as  the  Red  Cross  was  taking  care 
of  them.  They  all  spend  their  time  playing  pi- 
nochle and  peg-in-the-board. 

"From  the  moment  I  arrived  at  Villingen,  I 
planned  to  escape.  We  found  a  place  at  one  end 
of  the  pen  which  was  weak  and  had  been  over- 
looked. So  we  accordingly  made  our  ladders 
and  other  implements  to  escape.  The  news  that 
we  intended  to  escape  got  out,  however.  We 
suspected  that  several  Bolsheviki  Russians  in 
the  camp  overheard  others  talking  about  our 
plans  and  revealed  them  to  the  guards.  The  day 
before  we  escaped,  the  interior  guard  was  dou- 
bled permanently  and  a  new  wire  fence  was 
constructed  at  the  place  we  intended  to  utilize. 

"Next  Lieutenant  Isaacs  and  I  planned  to 
escape  on  a  technicality  in  our  word-of-honor 
pass-book.  Upon  going  for  a  walk  around  the 
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Escapes 

camp  we  were  made  to  sign  a  pass-book  giving 
our  word  that  we  would  not  escape.  To  do  so 
after  having  given  one's  word  meant  death  be- 
fore a  firing  squad. 

"With  a  microscope  and  smuggled  ink,  we  al- 
tered the  wording  of  our  books  and  of  the  seal 
which  we  made  to  read:  'We  intend  to  escape. 
We  do  not  give  our  word  of  honor.'  We  planned 
to  sign  this  forged  book  and  to  escape,  but  be- 
fore we  could  utilize  the  idea,  a  Russian  officer 
forestalled  us  and  escaped  two  days  before  we 
planned  to  do  so. 

"Next  we  attempted  to  break  jail  by  making 
false  keys  and  to  open  doors  which  would  put 
us  in  between  the  inner  and  outer  defenses.  We 
tried  to  make  a  plaster  cast  and  to  cast  some 
brass  keys,  but  the  experiment  was  a  failure. 

"On  October  5,  Lieutenant  Isaacs,  who  was 
the  ringleader  in  all  these  attempts  to  escape, 
said:  'We've  got  to  get  out  to-morrow  night. 
The  new  moon  will  soon  be  up.  Everybody  get 
ready.' 

"Accordingly,  Lieutenant  Isaacs  made  a 
bridge  and  cut  the  bars  of  his  windows.  The 
bridge,  which  was  twenty  feet  long,  was  to  be 

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Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

placed  over  all  the  barbed  wire  and  ditches.  It 
was  made  out  of  wood  one  inch  thick  by  two 
inches  wide.  How  the  men  later  crossed  that 
frail  bridge  without  cracking  it,  I  'm  sure  I  don't 
know,  as  it  was  entirely  unsupported. 

"Another  team  planned  to  go  out  of  a  win- 
dow and  to  cut  a  way  through  the  outer  wire 
with  wire-cutters.  A  third  team,  which  in- 
cluded George  Puryear,  who  succeeded  in  get- 
ting through  to  Switzerland  with  Lieutenant 
Isaacs  and  myself,  was  to  go  out  of  a  window  on 
the  same  side  with  a  ladder  over  the  wire. 

"The  fourth  team,  including  myself,  was  to 
cut  out  of  the  camp  into  a  separate  enclosure 
within  the  camp  occupied  by  the  German 
guards.  When  the  German  guards  rushed  out, 
the  men,  who  had  made  themselves  wooden 
guns  painted  black,  and  German  caps  with  the 
two  familiar  little  buttons,  were  to  join  them  in 
the  rush  through  the  main  gate. 

"The  fifth  team,  which  had  no  hope  of  es- 
cape, was  to  take  care  of  the  short-circuiting 
of  all  lights  by  means  of  chains  and  weights. 
These  men  made  a  very  careful  study  of  each 
wire  in  order  to  kill  each  individual  circuit.  We 

120 


Escapes 

tried  to  have  two  men  to  each  of  these  two 
chains  to  be  sure  that  each  circuit  would  be  put 
out  of  commission.  These  'circuit  men'  acted 
on  a  signal  from  the  director  or  chief  who  gave 
the  signal  when  all  the  sentries  were  in  the  most 
favorable  positions. 

"A  sixth  team,  which  also  had  no  hope  of 
escaping,  was  to  attract  the  side  sentries  out  of 
the  way.  This  team,  which  was  composed  of 
Russian  officers  of  the  old  Russian  Army,  gave 
us  every  possible  aid.  They  collected  tin  cans 
and  filled  them  with  stones  which  they  were  to 
throw  about  in  big  bags  while  the  general 
breakout  was  in  progress. 

"At  the  'zero  hour'  everything  was  ready 
and  every  one  was  in  his  place.  At  a  given  sig- 
nal all  the  lights  went  out  except  one  which 
flickered  on  account  of  the  swinging  of  the 
chain  and  weights.  Finally  all  the  lights  went 
out.  The  first  three  teams  jumped  from  the 
windows  and  went  across  the  bridges  thrown 
across  the  wire  and  ditches. 

"There  were  four  sentries  to  deal  with  on 
each  of  the  long  sides  of  the  pen,  and  two  sen- 
tries on  the  short  sides,  making  twelve  sentries 

121 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

in  all.  As  soon  as  our  four  teams  poured  out, 
these  sentries  began  firing  at  the  men.  How 
many  men  were  hit  I  do  not  know.  The  sen- 
tries, who  were  mostly  middle-aged  men,  were 
as  excited  as  we  were. 

"Our  party  hid  behind  a  small  barracks  at 
the  end  of  the  barracks  in  which  the  reserve 
guards  were  sleeping.  I  worked  feverishly  to 
cut  the  wire  leading  into  the  compound  occu- 
pied by  the  guards  and  which  was  separated 
from  our  inner  pen  by  an  enclosure  fence. 

"The  guard  on  watch  inside  the  camp  rushed 
out  as  soon  as  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the 
sleeping  guards  inside  the  barracks  near  us 
were  called  out  by  an  under-officer.  'Heraus! 
Heraus!'  he  shouted.  That  was  our  signal.  As 
the  guards  poured  out  of  their  sleeping  bar- 
racks, we  joined  right  in  with  them,  our  wooden 
guns  and  faked  German  caps  and  overcoats 
preventing  us  from  being  detected. 

"As  we  got  to  the  main  gate  there  was  a 
painful  pause  while  the  gate  was  being  un- 
locked. Fortunately  the  guards  were  so  ex- 
cited that  they  did  not  pay  much  attention 
to  us.  One  of  the  guards  was  so  excited  that 

122 


Escapes 

he  kept  loading  and  firing  his  gun  into  the 
air. 

"I  was  the  first  man  through  the  hole  I  had 
cut  in  the  wire  and  remained  at  the  main  gate 
ahead  of  the  sleeping  guards.  A  small  kerosene 
lamp  lighted  up  the  spot,  but  the  guard  there 
was  so  busy  loading  and  firing  his  rifle  that  he 
did  not  even  turn  around  to  look  at  me.  I 
waited  there  perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  seconds 
before  the  guard  came  out  and  unlocked  the 
gate. 

"With  the  guards  I  rushed  around  to  the 
southwest  side  of  the  barracks  where  three 
teams  of  our  men  were  escaping.  But  as  we  ran, 
I  edged  off  more  and  more  into  the  darkness. 
An  under-officer  saw  me  edging  off  and  shouted 
something  at  me.  When  he  shouted  again,  I 
dropped  all  pretense,  let  my  gun  fall  and  ran  off 
at  top  speed. 

"The  squad  began  shooting  at  me  then,  but 
their  aim  was  poor.  I  had  a  hard  run  uphill  and 
was  much  distressed  by  the  time  I  got  to  the 
top  of  the  hill.  My  speed  was  n't  very  great  for 
my  heavy  prison  shoes  were  loaded  with  mud 
and  each  seemed  as  if  it  weighed  ten  pounds. 

123 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

"Lieutenant  Isaacs  and  I  had  arranged  to 
meet  at  one  of  three  rendezvous  which  we  had 
selected.  I  kept  along  through  the  fields  and 
along  the  edge  of  the  woods  avoiding  all  roads 
and  houses.  I  came  to  our  first  rendezvous.  No 
Lieutenant  Isaacs.  'He  did  n't  get  away,'  I 
thought. 

"  I  kept  on  in  the  path  we  had  chosen,  how- 
ever, and  soon  I  heard  some  one  shouting.  I 
dropped  instantly  into  the  bushes  thinking  it 
might  be  a  guard.  We  had  agreed  to  call  out 
our  names  to  each  other,  and  when  Isaacs 
shouted  again,  I  jumped  up  and  grabbed 
him.  We  sure  were  delighted  to  meet  each 
other. 

"Instantly  we  set  off  at  a  jog-trot  together. 
We  made  twenty  kilometres  that  night.  Next 
to  the  prison  camp  was  a  barracks  containing  a 
battalion  of  soldiers.  We  knew  that  these  sol- 
diers would  be  sent  out  in  all  directions  looking 
for  us.  We  saw  automobiles  cruising  up  and 
down  the  roads  with  their  lamps  flashing  off 
into  the  fields,  and  bicycle  lights  bobbing  up 
and  down  in  the  distance.  We  kept  off  the 
roads,  knowing  that  automobiles  would  be  sent 

124 


Escapes 

ahead  and  guards  dropped  at  all  cross-roads  to 
intercept  us. 

"At  various  points  on  our  trail,  we  dropped 
pepper  to  throw  the  prison  camp  dogs  off  our 
course.  The  first  day  of  our  journey  across  Ger- 
many was  spent  in  a  dense  thicket  close  to 
a  town.  We  were  worried  almost  frantic  by 
groups  of  children  who  roamed  through  the 
woods  looking  for  nuts  and  gathering  firewood. 
All  during  our  trip  we  worried  ourselves  gray 
over  the  children  who  swarmed  in  all  the  coun- 
try districts  of  Germany  and  who  would  have 
been  delighted  to  turn  us  over  instantly  to  the 
authorities. 

"The  next  night  we  continued.  We  got 
bogged  in  a  swamp  and  spent  an  hour  getting 
out.  We  were  covered  with  mud  and  wet  to  the 
skin  when  we  finally  dragged  ourselves  out.  We 
crossed  no  bridges,  but  waded  and  swani  every 
stream,  drying  ourselves  out  in  the  sun  next 
day.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  journey  we  had 
good  maps  and  did  not  lose  our  route. 

"The  second  night  we  made  twenty  miles 
at  least.  We  crossed  ravine  after  ravine  in 
the  Schwarzwald  valley.  We  saw  no  one  that 

125 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

night.  The  next  day  it  rained,  so  we  made  our- 
selves a  bed  of  pine  boughs  and  covered  our- 
selves over  with  my  thin  rubber  raincoat.  We 
hugged  each  other  to  keep  warm.  People  were 
working  about  us  in  the  woods  near  by.  We 
could  hear  them  as  they  crackled  through  the 
brush,  but  we  were  buried  deep  under  our  pine 
boughs  and  they  did  not  find  us. 

"Toward  night  it  got  so  cold  that  we  made 
an  early  start.  We  struck  another  deep  moun- 
tain valley  and  passed  many  houses  with  lights 
in  them.  During  the  early  morning  hours  as  we 
were  going  west  instead  of  south,  we  got  into  a 
country  of  which  we  had  no  detail  maps. 

"We  struck  a  road  which  ended  in  the  woods. 
We  tried  to  find  the  continuation  of  the  road 
and  walked  around  in  a  circle.  Finally  we  re- 
traced our  steps.  We  lost  two  hours  that  night. 
Toward  dawn  we  passed  a  fine  vegetable  garden 
belonging  to  an  old  monastery.  We  took  two 
fine  heads  of  cabbage  which  certainly  were  most 
welcome. 

"We  now  struck  the  most  mountainous  part 
of  the  Schwarzwald,  and  were  not  far  from  St. 
Blassen.  That  day  was  a  most  miserable  one. 

126 


Escapes 

Children  hunting  for  nuts  and  firewood  again 
bothered  the  life  out  of  us.  However,  we  made  a 
hut  of  fir  branches  and  kept  out  of  sight. 

"The  fourth  night  we  were  completely  off 
the  detail  map  and  were  obliged  to  navigate  by 
compass  and  an  unreliable  map.  In  that  dis- 
trict of  the  Schwarzwald,  there  are  very  deep 
and  narrow  valleys.  Along  the  bottom  of  the 
valleys  are  rows  of  houses  and  on  the  plateau  on 
the  hilltops  are  other  villages  running  along  the 
crest. 

"To  have  walked  in  the  valleys  would  have 
meant  much  less  work  and  less  climbing  up  and 
down  through  thick  brush  and  obstructions  of 
all  sorts,  but  we  could  not  chance  detection. 
We  also  avoided  the  high  plateaus  for  the  same 
reason  and  kept  halfway  up  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains  where  the  going  was  terribly  diffi- 
cult but  safer. 

"How  many  mountain  streams  we  crossed  I 
don't  know.  We  were  continually  wet  through 
and  ran  to  keep  warm.  Several  times  we  met 
people.  Once  we  came  across  a  couple  who 
sprang  up  in  alarm  and  ran  at  top  speed  when 
they  saw  us.  Lone  pedestrians  avoided  us.  One 

127 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

man  grunted  as  he  passed,  but  others  went  by 
without  speaking,  which  is  unusual  in  the  rural 
districts  of  Germany. 

"We  usually  dropped  down  for  an  hour's 
nap  early  in  the  morning  when  dawn  came.  We 
found  that  a  cake  of  chocolate  had  enough 
heating  properties  to  enable  us  to  sleep  for 
about  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half  without 
being  awakened  by  the  cold.  During  the  day  we 
would  doze  after  having  spent  part  of  the  morn- 
ing or  afternoon  drying  our  clothes. 

"The  country  was  now  almost  impassable. 
Our  food  was  running  low  and  we  lived  prin- 
cipally on  raw  potatoes,  turnips,  and  carrots 
which  were  very  welcome  indeed.  We  feared 
that  we  would  strike  the  country  adjacent  to 
the  Rhine  without  knowing  it.  We  had  no  maps 
now,  so  went  very  carefully.  We  made  one  mis- 
calculation which  took  us  away  from  the  Rhine, 
but  finally  we  heard  trains  going  along  in  the 
distance  and  were  sure  that  we  were  near  the 
Rhine  valley  (?). 

"In  the  early  morning  fog,  we  were  able  to 
creep  out  through  a  neck  of  the  woods  into  a 
thicket  which  lay  not  more  than  a  kilometre 

128 


Escapes 

from  the  river.  We  went  on  into  the  last  bush 
and  lay  there  hidden  most  of  that  day  observ- 
ing the  frontier. 

"We  were  so  close  to  a  path  that  we  could 
hear  the  conversation  of  passers-by.  In  the 
middle  of  the  day  a  countryman  pushed  his  way 
through  the  bushes  and  saw  Lieutenant  Isaacs. 
As  Isaacs  was  wearing  a  German  soldier's  cap, 
the  farmer  did  not  appear  to  be  startled,  evi- 
dently taking  Isaacs  for  a  frontier  guard  in  hid- 
ing for  some  one. 

"However,  the  encounter  gave  us  cold  chills 
and  we  made  our  way  back  into  the  deepest 
part  of  the  woods  where  we  waited  until  night. 
That  evening  we  ate  our  last  piece  of  sausage 
and  our  last  cake  of  chocolate.  We  made  quite  a 
ceremony  out  of  that  last  meal. 

"At  ten  o'clock  that  night  a  heavy  fog  came 
up  over  the  river.  Isaacs  and  I  had  thrown 
away  our  shoes  and  all  our  clothing  except  our 
trousers.  Our  extra  pair  of  gray  socks  we  put 
over  our  hands  so  that  they  would  not  be  so 
conspicuously  white.  We  fastened  our  money 
and  papers  with  strings  around  our  necks.  Be- 
fore leaving  our  hiding  place,  we  greased  our 

129 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

bodies  with  lard  which  we  had  saved  for  that 
purpose. 

"Crawling  on  our  hands  and  knees,  we  finally 
reached  the  Rhine  without  incident.  We  found 
it  difficult  to  cross  the  railroad  tracks  without 
making  any  noise  as  the  rock  ballast  shifted  and 
started  to  run  with  each  step.  We  got  across 
the  railroad,  however,  just  in  time  to  miss  a 
guard  who  walked  up  the  railroad. 

"We  crawled  along  a  high  stone  wall  or  em- 
bankment on  the  edge  of  the  Rhine  for  hun- 
dreds of  yards  without  finding  a  place  where 
we  could  let  ourselves  down  into  the  river.  We 
could  hear  the  guard  below  along  the  river- 
bank  walking  up  and  down. 

"We  did  not  know  it  at  the  time,  but  we 
were  sixty  feet  up  above  the  narrow  road  which 
ran  along  the  river  edge  at  that  point.  Several 
times  I  lowered  Lieutenant  Isaacs  over  the  edge 
of  the  wall  to  see  if  he  could  'touch  bottom.' 
We  could  see  only  a  few  feet  through  the  fog. 
If  he  had  dropped,  he  would  have  been  badly 
injured  if  not  killed. 

"We  found  the  wall  to  be  perfectly  perpen- 
dicular all  along  its  length,  and  as  we  contin- 

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Escapes 

ued  eastward  we  found  that  it  was  becoming 
higher  and  higher.  Finally  we  decided  to  make 
a  long  detour  inland  and  to  travel  along  the 
railroad  tracks  to  arrive  at  a  point  where  our 
observations  of  the  afternoon  had  led  us  to  be- 
lieve that  there  might  be  a  break  in  the  em- 
bankment. 

"We  crawled  back  through  the  wet  grass  on 
our  hands  and  knees.  Several  times  we  were 
stopped  by  walls,  buildings,  and  perpendicular 
walls  enclosing  gullies,  but  finally  we  reached 
the  point  aimed  at.  I  started  to  crawl  through 
some  dead  blackberry  bushes  which  cracked 
ominously.  Instantly  a  guard  threw  his  torch 
all  around.  He  fussed  about  for  five  minutes  but 
fortunately  did  not  throw  its  rays  on  us  hiding 
in  the  bushes. 

"It  was  a  close  shave  and  we  breathed  hard 
after  that.  However,  the  incident  gave  us  the 
location  of  the  guard.  We  made  a  detour  of  the 
bushes  and  crept  down  a  creek  right  under  the 
guard's  nose.  We  made  our  every  move  for  that 
last  hundred  yards  a  careful  study.  It  took  us 
nearly  two  hours  to  go  that  three  hundred  feet 
down  the  creek  to  the  Rhine. 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

"I  came  to  the  river  first  and  was  suddenly 
swept  off  by  the  current  without  having  an  op- 
portunity to  take  off  the  rest  of  my  clothes. 
The  Rhine  has  a  terrific  current  at  the  point  we 
crossed,  and  I  had  a  hard  fight  to  get  my  trou- 
sers off.  Eddies  and  whirlpools  buffeted  me 
about,  and  the  current,  instead  of  carrying  me 
to  the  Swiss  shore,  carried  me  back  toward 
Bocheland. 

"Lieutenant  Isaacs  and  I  lost  each  other  in 
the  river.  We  both  had  a  hard  fight  to  make  the 
Swiss  shore  six  hundred  feet  off.  We  suffered 
much  from  the  icy  water  which  made  us  both 
fear  that  we  would  go  down  with  cramps.  I 
landed  on  a  sandy  spit  and  crawled  through  the 
bushes  to  the  Swiss  railroad  line  paralleling  the 
river. 

"I  ran  down  the  railroad  track  to  keep  my 
circulation  up.  There  were  no  houses  or  fron- 
tier guards  in  sight.  Finally  I  came  to  a  country 
tavern.  I  shouted  up  and  explained  my  predica- 
ment. The  patronne's  son  came  down  and  put 
me  to  bed,  all  muddy  as  I  was.  Then  the  pa- 
tronne's daughters,  pink  cheeked  and  smiling, 
prepared  hot  coffee  and  schnapps  for  me. 

132 


Escapes 

"The  son  of  the  house  went  out  to  find 
Isaacs.  He  came  back  after  a  long  search  with- 
out finding  him  and  my  heart  sank.  I  feared  he 
had  been  lost.  Imagine  my  joy  when  a  frontier 
guard  came  in  half  an  hour  later  with  the  word 
that  Isaacs  had  landed  farther  up  the  river  and 
would  soon  come  down  to  the  inn. 

"I  want  to  correct  the  impression  that  the 
Swiss  along  the  frontier  are  pro-German.  They 
are  the  kindest  and  best-natured  people  imag- 
inable. What  they  have  seen  of  the  Germans, 
and  the  million  French  and  Belgian  evacues, 
who  have  come  through  at  Basle  from  the  in- 
vaded districts  of  northern  France  and  Bel- 
gium, have  made  them  more  determined  than 
ever  to  defend  their  neutrality  against  their 
northern  neighbors.  , 

"I  want  to  say  a  final  word  about  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  in  Switzerland.  The  food  boxes 
sent  by  the  American  Red  Cross  to  the  boys  in 
Germany  come  through  regularly  and  the  food 
sent  was  of  the  most  substantial  sort.  I  can  say 
that  American  soldier  prisoners  in  Germany 
were  as  well  fed  as  they  are  while  in  the  Ameri- 
can Army.  The  French  and  Belgian  officers  may 

133 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

get  more  luxuries,  such  as  pate-de-fois  gras  and 
the  like,  but  as  for  wholesome  food,  nothing 
can  equal  the  Red  Cross  packages.  American 
soldiers  were  fed  as  well  as  French  or  Belgian 
officers." 

Lieutenant  Willis,  after  a  short  stay  in  Berne 
after  his  escape  from  Germany,  left  for  France 
on  October  17.  He  was  accompanied  by  Lieu- 
tenant Edouard  Isaacs,  of  Portsmouth,  Vir- 
ginia, and  by  Lieutenant  George  Puryear, 
of  Memphis,  Tennessee,  who  escaped  from 
Villingen  at  the  same  time,  but  who  got  to 
the  Rhine  and  into  Switzerland  a  day  before 
they  did. 

In  the  party  was  the  fourth  American  to 
escape  from  Germany  within  a  week,  Frank 
Sovicki,  a  Polish-American  of  Shenandoah, 
Pennsylvania,  who  escaped  from  a  farm  seven 
kilometres  from  the  Swiss  frontier  a  few  days 
before  Lieutenant  Puryear  and  Lieutenants 
Willis  and  Isaacs  came  across.  Sovicki  was  the 
first  American  private  to  escape  from  a  German 
prison  camp,  and  Lieutenant  Puryear  the  first 
American  officer  to  duplicate  the  trick.  All  four 

134 


Escapes 

men  expressed  the  determination  to  return  at 
once  to  the  front  in  France. 

Private  Sovicki  was  sent  to  Camp  Rastatt, 
but  was  put  to  work  on  a  farm  about  seven  or 
eight  kilometres  from  the  Swiss  frontier.  He 
seems  to  have  escaped  without  great  difficul- 
ties on  October  8,  1918,  and  was  in  excellent 
condition  when  he  arrived  at  the  American 
Red  Cross,  October  10. 

Private  Sovicki  stated  he  was  captured  at 
Chateau-Thierry  July  13.  He  was  hiding  in  a 
shell-hole  waiting  for  the  time  to  come  when  he 
could  perhaps  get  back  to  his  company,  when 
he  was  surrounded  by  seven  German  soldiers. 
They  treated  him  rather  roughly.  For  two  days 
he  was  kept  behind  the  lines  without  any  food 
or  water.  His  spiral  puttees,  watch  and  chain, 
together  with  a  small  amount  of  money,  were 
taken  away  from  him.  His  shoes,  however, 
which  were  very  wet  and  muddy  and  looked  to 
be  of  practically  no  value,  he  was  able  to  re- 
tain. He  was  taken  to  Laon,  where  he  was 
placed  at  work,  and  stayed  there  for  about  a 
month.  According  to  his  statement,  the  Ameri- 
cans were  given  the  hardest  kind  of  work  to 

135 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

do,  and  the  prisoners  of  other  nationalities  were 
given  work  only  after  all  the  Americans  had 
been  assigned. 

For  food,  they  received  hot  water  for  break- 
fast, a  soup  (little  more  than  water)  for  dinner, 
and  for  supper  hot  water  again.  The  ration  of 
bread  was  three  pounds  for  each  seven  men. 
Treatment  here  was  very  brutal,  and  he  states 
that  several  men  were  actually  hit  with  rifles 
until  blood  flowed  from  their  veins. 

From  Laon,  he  was  sent  to  Rastatt.  The 
journey  was  accomplished  in  three  days  and 
three  nights.  They  were  shipped  like  cattle  in 
freight  cars,  in  which  fifty  men  were  crowded. 
Each  man  had  for  the  journey  one  and  one  half 
pounds  of  bread,  and  they  were  allowed  to  have 
their  canteens  filled  with  water  twice  during 
the  journey.  At  Rastatt,  the  American  Help 
Committee  provided  him  with  food  and  cloth- 
ing, and  gave  him  five  marks.  The  conditions  in 
the  camp  he  stated  were  good;  the  place  was 
clean  and  comfortable.  The  beds  of  the  men 
were  arranged  in  two  tiers,  provided  with  mat- 
tresses. Each  man  was  furnished  with  two 
blankets,  which  he  states  had  been  taken  from 

136 


Escapes 

Russia.  They  were  of  good  size,  but  quite  thin. 
He  complains  that  when  the  weekly  rations 
were  given  out,  the  German  censors  would  open 
every  can.  In  this  way,  of  course,  a  great  deal  of 
the  food  was  spoiled  before  the  men  could  eat  it. 
After  staying  at  Rastatt  fifteen  days,  he  was 
sent  to  the  farm  seven  kilometres  from  the 
Swiss  border,  where  he  was  put  at  work  as  an 
ordinary  farm  laborer.  In  this  farm  were  also 
about  fifteen  Russian  prisoners,  and  they  all 
slept  together  in  the  same  room  in  the  barn. 
The  farmer  had  four  cows,  and  whenever 
milked,  soldiers  came  and  took  the  milk.  They 
also  came  every  week  with  wagons  and  loaded 
up  everything  on  the  farm,  —  potatoes,  ap- 
ples, chickens,  or  anything  else  available.  The 
smallest  bit  of  food,  rotten  or  good,  was  cooked 
for  use.  One  mark  was  the  price  of  one  potato. 
Old  men  and  women  who  were  sick  could  get 
nothing.  Shoes  were  made  of  wood  soles  with 
some  kind  of  paper  top,  and  were  useless  in  wet 
weather.  There  were  no  horses  to  be  seen,  and 
only  a  few  cows.  Women  and  children  were  do- 
ing the  work.  The  son  of  the  farmer,  who  had 
returned  from  the  front,  was  obliged  to  send  his 
137 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

uniform  back  for  use  by  some  other  soldier;  this 
included  his  shoes,  hat,  and  all  military  equip- 
ment. This  German  soldier  told  Sovicki  that 
in  two  months  all  would  be  over,  as  every  day 
the  Germans  were  falling  back,  and  also  that 
the  supplies  for  the  soldiers  were  very  scarce. 
This  son  treated  him  decently  and  showed  him 
how  to  do  things  without  pushing  him.  He  often 
found  children  crying  and  hungry.  There  was 
no  silver  coin  in  Germany;  only  paper  money 
was  used. 

He  also  said  that  whenever  horses,  whether 
wounded  or  sick,  died,  soldiers  would  cut  off 
pieces  of  meat  with  their  knives  and  put  them  in 
their  sacks  to  be  cooked  at  the  first  opportunity. 
Other  observations  gave  the  impression  that 
people  were  very  dissatisfied,  and  that  every- 
body was  longing  for  peace. 

Following  are  brief  accounts  of  three  escapes 
into  Holland  from  German  prison  camps. 

Lieutenant  Robert  Alexander  Anderson,  U.S. 
Air  Forces,  attached  to  4Oth  Squadron,  R.A.F.; 
home  address,  Honolulu;  born  June  6,  1894,  *n 
Honolulu;  before  the  war  was  an  electrical  en- 

138 


Escapes 

gineer.  Escaped  by  way  of  Holland,  reaching 
there  October  23,  1918.  He  was  captured  Au- 
gust 27,  1918,  five  miles  southeast  of  Arras. 
Had  a  bullet  wound  just  below  the  left  knee, 
also  a  piece  of  explosive  bullet  in  left  hip  and 
right  calf,  all  fresh  wounds.  The  German  medi- 
cal treatment  consisted  of  painting  with  iodine 
and  bandaging,  and  a  little  later  injecting  with 
anti-tetanus  fluid.  Treatment  was  fair.  He  was 
only  given  one  bowl  of  soup  and  a  piece  of 
bread  on  the  journey  to  the  hospital  at  Mons. 
This  trip  took  from  noon  one  day  until  mid- 
night the  next  day  and  was  by  light  railway  to 
Douai,  and  on  the  floor  of  a  box  car  to  Mons. 
He  was  placed  in  the  hospital  called  Marchen- 
schule  at  Mons.  There  were  three  hundred  men 
in  the  hospital  —  British,  French,  Russians, 
Italians,  Belgian  civilians,  and  two  Americans. 
He  was  detained  at  the  concentration  camp  at 
Fresnes,  where  men  and  R.A.F.  officers  were 
collected  to  be  sent  to  Germany.  He  stated 
that  the  guards  were  stupid  and  unsuspicious, 
and  it  never  occurred  to  them  that  any  one 
would  wish  to  escape;  that  they  were  in  general 
easy  to  evade.  The  prison  consisted  of  an  old 

139 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

brewery,  from  which  all  machinery  had  been 
removed,  very  dirty  and  full  of  fleas  and  other 
vermin.  Bedding  consisted  of  straw  mattress 
and  two  blankets.  There  was  no  heating  or 
lighting,  and  no  bathing  facilities.  He  saw  no 
cruelty  to  American  or  other  officers.  For  the 
first  attempt  to  escape,  he  was  given  fourteen 
days  in  solitary  confinement  on  200  grs.  of 
bread  per  day,  and  water.  The  food  consisted  of 
200  to  300  grs.  of  bread  per  day,  very  dark  col- 
ored and  soggy,  acorn  coffee  at  7  A.M.  and  4  P.M., 
and  soup  at  noon.  He  states  that  the  British 
prisoners  never  received  anything  until  from 
four  months  to  a  year's  time,  in  the  way  of 
relief  supplies.  He  was  allowed  to  write  hos- 
pital cards  of  ten  lines  a  month  and  two  letters 
of  20  lines.  He  states  that  he  knew  of  the  enemy 
using  explosive  bullets.  He  escaped  at  10  P.M., 
September  26,  1918,  from  the  camp  at  Fresnes. 
He  further  says  that  the  people  were  very  badly 
off  for  food  and  clothes  and  much  dissatisfied; 
also  that  prices  were  very  high  and,  according 
to  statements  of  civilians,  that  there  was  much 
desertion,  and  no  petrol  for  motor  transporta- 
tion. 

140 


Escapes 

Lieutenant  John  Owen  Donaldson,  U.S.  Air 
Service,  attached  to  320!  Squadron,  R.A.F.;  son 
of  General  T.  Q.  Donaldson,  182  Wyoming 
Avenue,  Washington,  D.C.;  born  May  14, 
1897;  was  a  student  at  Cornell  University  be- 
fore the  war.  Escaped  by  way  of  Holland, 
reaching  there  October  23,  1918.  Was  captured 
September  21,  1918,  south  of  Douai,  France. 
He  was  in  the  prison  camp  at  Douai,  then 
Conde,  and  afterwards  Fresnes.  Douai  was  a 
permanent  camp;  Conde  was  a  temporary 
camp  for  sending  men  to  Germany.  The  com- 
mandant in  general  treated  the  men  well.  The 
second  in  command,  a  sergeant  major,  showed 
cruelty  to  the  men,  but  respect  to  a  live  officer. 
Lodgings  were  bad;  three  blankets  were  allowed 
to  a  man,  but  were  full  of  lice  and  fleas.  No 
heating,  no  lights,  and  no  attention  paid  to 
ventilation.  No  soap  and  no  toilet  facilities. 
For  attempting  to  escape  from  the  prison  at 
Conde,  he  was  given  solitary  confinement  on 
200  grs.  of  bread  and  water  a  day  for  two 
weeks.  This  had  a  bad  effect  for  the  first  six 
days.  After  that,  British  soldiers  brought  food. 
The  camp  food  consisted  of  200  to  300  grs.  of 

141 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

bread  per  day,  soup  and  coffee,  —  the  bread 
very  sour,  the  soup  thin,  and  the  coffee  made 
out  of  burnt  barley.  He  escaped  at  9.30  P.M., 
September  26,  1918,  from  Fresnes,  by  taking 
the  tiles  off  the  roof  and  escaping  through  a 
hole.  He  states  that  the  Germans  are  badly  in 
need  of  food  and  that  soldiers  were  sending 
bread  from  the  front  back  to  Germany;  that 
the  Belgians  advised  him  that  many  Germans 
had  deserted. 

Thomas  Elingwood  Tillinghart,  Lieutenant 
1 7th  Aerial  Squadron,  escaped  by  way  of  Hol- 
land, reaching  there  October  23,  1918.  Home, 
Westerly,  Rhode  Island;  born  May  29,  1893,  at 
Providence,  Rhode  Island;  was  a  student  when 
he  entered  the  service;  captured  September  22, 
1918,  two  miles  southwest  of  Cambrai. 

On  the  date  of  his  capture,  he  was  walked  to 
a  small  village  back  of  Cambrai.  He  was  there 
questioned  and  put  in  a  church  for  the  night. 
The  next  day  he  was  taken  to  Fresnes  four 
miles  north  of  Valenciennes.  There  were  two 
prison  camps  there  under  the  same  officer.  In 
one  were  British  soldiers  who  had  been  there  a 
long  time,  two  or  three  years,  and  in  the  other 


Escapes 

were  British  soldiers  who  had  been  taken  in 
March,  1918.  The  former  were  receiving  pack- 
ages from  home,  but  the  latter  were  depending 
on  just  what  the  Germans  furnished  them,  con- 
sisting of  coffee  and  bread  for  breakfast  and 
supper,  and  cabbage  soup  for  the  noon  meal. 
They  received  200  grs.  of  bread  a  day.  Lieuten- 
ant Tillinghart  was  in  this  camp  and  could  not 
eat  the  food.  He  escaped  from  this  prison  on  the 
evening  of  his  transfer.  Each  prisoner  had  one 
blanket  and  slept  on  the  floor  of  a  very  poorly 
ventilated  factory.  The  officers  had  a  room  to 
themselves  with  mattresses  and  two  blankets. 
The  blankets  were  dirty  and  contained  body 
lice.  There  was  no  heating;  lighting  was  by 
candle.  It  was  not  a  regular  prison  but  one 
where  men  were  detained  on  their  way  back  to 
Germany.  There  was  a  small  yard  in  which  the 
men  could  walk,  but  when  they  were  all  out, 
there  was  not  sufficient  room  to  move  about. 
They  were  allowed  to  write  one  postal  card  a 
week.  Lieutenant  Tillinghart  escaped  on  Sep- 
tember 26,  1918,  at  9.30  P.M.  from  Fresnes,  four 
miles  north  of  Valenciennes.  He  took  the  tiles 
from  the  roof  and  crawled  through,  dropping 

143 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

into  the  adjacent  yard.  His  report  on  conditions 
behind  the  German  lines  was  as  follows : 

"Food  is  very  scarce.  Men  have  been  known 
to  send  bread  home.  Near  the  frontier,  some 
men  were  given  their  bread  and  allowed  frs.  4  a 
day  with  which  to  purchase  their  food.  Military 
discipline  was  excellent." 


Chapter  IX 

HUMAN  WRECKAGE 

BY  the  agreement  of  March  15  and  May  15, 
1918,  between  France  and  Germany  and  of 
July  2, 1917,  between  England  and  Germany,  it 
was  provided  that  prisoners  suffering  from  cer- 
tain diseases  or  incapacitated  to  a  certain  de- 
gree by  wounds  or  otherwise  should  be  interned 
in  Switzerland.  Many  of  the  prisoners  interned 
under  this  agreement  were  from  northern 
France  and  Belgium.  They  had  been  captured 
in  the  early  days  of  the  war  and  had  spent  three 
to  four  years  in  German  prison  camps.  In  re- 
treating with  the  French  and  Belgian  armies, 
their  families  had  been  left  behind  within  the 
zone  of  occupation  of  the  German  armies  where 
they  too  were  in  effect  prisoners.  All  communi- 
cation was  of  course  interrupted  and  neither 
knew  the  fate  of  the  other.  The  families  were 
moved  about  by  the  fortunes  of  war,  and  be- 
came separated  in  many  instances.  Frequently 
some  were  deported  into  Germany  and  forced 
to  work  in  what  was  practically  slavery  and  so 
145 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

the  separation  became  complete.  If  letters  from 
the  soldier  went  through  some  neutral  agency 
to  his  old  home,  it  was  probable  that  the  home 
was  destroyed,  the  family  scattered,  and  ad- 
dress unknown.  Thus  the  separation  and  igno- 
rance of  the  fate  of  each. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1917  an  arrangement 
was  effected  between  France  and  Germany  by 
which  civilians  in  occupied  territory  were  per- 
mitted to  pass  within  the  lines  occupied  by  the 
troops  of  their  country  of  origin. 

Under  this  agreement  civilians  from  north- 
ern France  and  Belgium,  then  within  the  lines 
of  the  German  armies,  were  sent  into  France 
to  the  number  of  1300  daily.  Two  trains  ar- 
rived each  day  on  the  Swiss-German  frontier 
at  Basle,  and  passed  out  of  Switzerland  into 
France  at  Bouveret,  each  train  containing  650 
old  men,  women,  and  children. 

Nothing  more  pathetic  could  be  imagined 
than  the  appearance  of  these  sufferers  as  they 
stepped  upon  the  station  platform  at  Basle,  all 
their  worldly  possessions  on  their  backs  or  car- 
ried in  their  hands.  An  old  man  or  woman  who 
must  be  taken  at  once  to  the  hospital  for  medi- 

146 


Human  Wreckage 

cal  or  surgical  treatment;  a  mother  with  her 
infant  child  and  perhaps  two  or  three  older  chil- 
dren clinging  to  her  skirts;  here  and  there  sis- 
ters of  charity,  priests,  and  teachers.  They  had, 
in  many  instances,  walked  miles  to  meet  the 
train  that  was  to  carry  them  out  of  captiv- 
ity, their  feet  were  so  swollen  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  wear  shoes,  and  they  were  bare- 
footed or  in  stocking  feet,  especially  the  old. 
They  had  been  one,  two,  three  days  in  the  day 
coaches  —  all  kinds  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren huddled  together  with  only  such  scanty 
food  as  they  were  able  to  bring  with  them,  little 
water  to  wash  with  and  no  soap,  sleeping  in 
their  clothing  where  they  sat;  dirty,  hungry, 
destitute,  desolate  humanity,  with  nothing  left 
but  hope  and  the  comfort  of  escaping  from  the 
inhumanity  of  their  captors. 

Benjamin  Vollotin,  the  eminent  Swiss  au- 
thor, discovered  that  many  of  these  "repa- 
tries"  had  husbands,  brothers,  fathers  among 
the  prisoners  interned  in  Switzerland  and  he 
determined  to  bring  them  together  if  for  only  a 
few  days.  This  was  a  most  difficult  task  as  it 
involved  making  a  record  each  day  of  1300 

147 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

people  at  Basle;  then  an  examination  of  the  in- 
ternment records  at  Berne.  If  close  male  rela- 
tives were  discovered  among  the  interned  pris- 
oners in  Switzerland,  it  was  then  necessary  to 
obtain  permission  for  the  prisoner  to  travel  to 
some  agreed  point  for  the  reunion;  also  to  ar- 
range for  the  repatrie's  relatives  to  return  from 
Evian-les-Bains  in  France  to  this  point.  The 
food  and  lodging  of  the  prisoners  and  repatries 
must  also  be  provided.  Mr.  Vollotin  overcame 
all  these  obstacles  successfully  and  organized 
"Le  Bonheur  Familial"  which  provided  the 
funds  and  entertainment  for  these  reunions 
which  took  place  at  Bouveret,  Switzerland. 

For  five  days  the  reunion  lasted  in  each  case 
and  it  was  not  unusual  to  have  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  as  guests  of  this  society. 

All  the  kind  people  in  and  about  Bouveret 
did  everything  in  their  power  to  help  these  vic- 
tims of  war  and  make  their  five  days  together 
as  delightful  as  possible.  There  was  no  thought 
in  this  little  village  but  one  of  helpfulness  and 
unselfish  consideration.  They  not  only  provided 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  reunited  families, 
but  visited  each  train  as  it  passed  through 

148 


Human  Wreckage 

and  supplied  hot  coffee,  bouillon,  chocolate,  and 
sandwiches. 

Thirteen  hundred  repatries  were  arriving 
daily,  and  the  reunion  could  not  be  prolonged. 
At  the  end  of  the  five  days,  the  families  were 
obliged  to  separate  again,  the  prisoner  to  re- 
turn to  his  zone  of  internment,  the  wife, 
mother,  brothers,  sisters,  children,  to  return  to 
Evian  and  from  there  be  distributed  to  un- 
known homes  in  various  sections  of  southern 
France,  there  to  await  the  end  of  the  war  and 
then  to  return  to  devastated  homes  in  a  land 
made  barren  by  the  engines  of  war  or  the  need- 
less depredations  and  destruction  of  the  Hun. 

This  steady  stream  of  human  wreckage 
passing  through  Switzerland  daily  for  months 
was  one  of  the  most  pathetic  incidents  of 
the  war.  Every  phase  of  human  suffering  and 
emotion  was  there  depicted:  ruthless  separation 
of  families,  sickness,  death,  privation,  tortur- 
ing anxiety  for  month  after  month,  homes  de- 
stroyed, the  most  sacred  family  ties  ruthlessly 
broken,  thirteen  hundred  victims  every  day 
passing  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Hun  at  Bou- 
veret  and  into  the  friendly  hands  of  the  French 

149 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

at  Evian-les-Bains.  Harmless,  innocent  victims, 
each  stamped  with  the  horrors  and  suffering  of 
war,  up  to  July  I,  more  than  200,000  of  these 
had  passed  through  Switzerland. 

I  herewith  append  copies  of  characteristic 
notes  taken  from  returning  prisoners  who  passed 
through  Berne,  showing  in  brief  the  conditions 
at  the  camps  where  they  had  been  held  captives. 
These  particular  notes  were  taken  on  the  arrival 
of  the  train  at  2  A.M.  on  November  9, 1918,  two 
days  before  the  armistice  was  signed.  This  was 
a  train  of  French  prisoners : 

Camp  Giistrow:  Giistrow  is  a  "Stammlager" 
well  organized.  There  is  a  side  track  from  the 
railroad  station  to  the  camp  and  packages  are 
delivered  directly  inside  the  post-office.  After 
two  days'  delay,  the  parcels  are  distributed. 
Drinking  water  is  not  good  but  is  not  dangerous. 
No  wash-rooms  in  the  camp;  bath-rooms  are 
large,  clean,  and  open  all  the  week.  There  is  a 
large  theatre  and  a  cinema.  Prisoners  may  go  to 
a  public  house  outside  the  camp  where  they 
may  purchase  lemonade  at  a  reasonable  price. 
Canteens  are  established  in  the  camp,  but  sell 

150 


Human  Wreckage 

nothing  except  toilet  articles.  Libraries,  four  in 
number,  English,  French,  German,  Russian.  Dis- 
cipline not  hard.  Colonel  in  command  is  a  good 
man  and  has  issued  special  orders  that  both 
the  Americans  and  French  must  be  well  treated. 
Blocks  are  not  separated.  Prisoners  pronounce 
Giistrow  one  of  the  best  German  camps. 

Cassel:  A  bad  camp.  In  1915,  3000  French 
and  Russians  died  of  typhus.  Parcels  not  ar- 
riving regularly.  Camp  is  not  clean.  Grippe 
exists  in  the  camp  and  authorities  are  doing 
little  to  prevent  it. 

Gottingen  in  Hanover:  A  good  camp,  well  sit- 
uated near  an  old  castle,  one  tower  of  which  is 
in  the  camp.  Camp  is  well  organized,  and  con- 
ditions satisfactory.  Prisoners  call  this  camp 
"seashore  for  prisoners."  Prisoners  have  no 
complaints.  Camp  belongs  to  the  Tenth  Army 
Corps.  General  von  Hauish,  who  is  not  well  re- 
garded by  the  prisoners,  is  the  Kommandantur. 

Limburg:  Americans  formerly  here  have  been 
sent  to  Miinster. 

Munster:  Established  in  a  German  caserne, 
and  prisoners  consider  it  a  great  advantage  to 
be  housed  in  a  permanent  structure.  Prisoners 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

are  treated  as  soldiers  and  make  no  com- 
plaint. 

Mannheim:  Three  new  American  prisoners 
arrived  on  November  2.  Already  some  Ameri- 
cans there,  number  not  known.  Camp  is  very 
dirty.  Many  prisoners  (not  Americans)  have 
been  dying  recently. 

Heidelburg  (officers'  camp):  Camp  is  well 
organized,  and  American  officers  have  made  no 
complaints. 

Montmedy:  Twelve  Americans  were  there;  all 
new  prisoners.  This  is  a  concentration  camp 
just  behind  German  lines  and  is  not  therefore 
visited  by  neutral  delegates  who  cannot  go  into 
the  zone  of  the  armies.  Germans  can  therefore 
abuse  prisoners.  French,  Americans,  and  English 
are  starved  about  ten  days  before  being  sent 
into  permanent  German  camps.  American  pris- 
oners had  all  their  jewelry  stolen  by  the  Ger- 
man guards. 

In  general:  French  prisoners  report  American 
Red  Cross  parcels  arriving  all  right. 


Chapter  X 

APPRECIATION 

COPIES  of  characteristic  letters  from  prisoners 
received  at  headquarters  at  Berne,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  Red  Cross  service: 

Christiania,  October  3 1 

DEAR  MR.  DENNETT: 

Just  going  to  steamer,  Hurrah!  I  left 
instructions  in  Berlin  for  you  to  be  informed  of 
my  release  on  the  22nd  and  hoped  to  write  a 
long  letter  from  Copenhagen,  but  I  have  had 
hectic  and  busy  days  for  a  fortnight,  you  may 
believe.  A  thousand  thanks  for  all  you  have 
done. 

Thank  God  I  am  going  to  a  country  where 
I  can  walk  into  a  shop  and  buy  a  collar  and 
a  pair  of  shoes  just  as  if  it  were  a  simple,  or- 
dinary act  such  as  our  ancestors  were  accus- 
tomed to. 

Sincerely 

HENRY  C.  EMERY 
153 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

American  Help  Committee 

Kriegsgefangenenlager 

Brandenburg,  Germany 

July  24,  1918 

Mr.  Carl  P.  Dennett, 

American  Red  Cross,  Berne. 
DEAR  MR.  DENNETT: 

Your  letters  of  July  2nd  and  5th,  with 
cards  enclosed,  were  received,  for  which  many 
thanks.  You  can  rest  assured  that  I  will  do  my 
best  to  inform  you  of  new  arrivals  at  this  camp. 
Relative  to  your  letter  of  the  5th  inst.,  the 
information  I  can  give  you  is :  We  have  a  very 
nice  international  band,  with  Paul  J.  Nagle  as 
director,  giving  concerts  each  week.  We  also 
put  a  small  show  on  every  three  weeks,  having 
a  fairly  large  theatre.  The  Y.M.C.A.  are  doing 
great  work  for  us,  having  already  sent  us  many 
games,  books,  and  music.  They  are  also  sending 
us  baseballs  and  tennis  gear,  as  we  have  a  very- 
nice  field  for  all  kinds  of  athletic  sports.  These 
grounds  were  given  us  by  the  German  officials, 
and  opened  with  the  band  with  different  sports, 
the  Kommandantur  and  other  German  officers 
being  present.  We  have  membership  to  these 

154 


Appreciation 

grounds,  all  Americans  being  members.  Our 
allies  are  interested  in  baseball  and  volley-ball. 
I  have  a  small  but  very  nice  library  attached  to 
our  Help  Committee,  and  books  to  study,  which 
all  enjoy. 

Hoping  this  will  be  satisfactory  to  you,  and 
assuring  you  that  I  will  be  glad  to  give  you  any 
information  I  can,  I  beg  to  remain,  with  best 
wishes  to  yourself  and  all 

Very  truly  yours 

(Sgd)  JAMES  DELANEY,  President 

American  Help  Committee 

Landshut,  Bavaria,  Oct.  15,  1918 

GENTLEMEN: 

In  the  emergency  rations  just  received 
from  you  we  found  stamped  post-cards  with 
the  Velvet  smoking  tobacco.  These  were  to  be 
returned  to  the  donors  of  the  tobacco,  and  were 
to  bear  a  few  words  of  acknowledgment.  I  would 
appreciate  it  very  much  if  you  would  be  kind 
enough  to  drop  each  of  them  a  line  and  tell 
them  how  wonderful  it  is  to  receive  real  to- 
bacco here  in  a  prison  camp.  The  names  of  the 
donors  are: 

155 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

R.  T.  Humble,  Camp  Point,  Al. 
Ralph  Norton,  Denver,  Mo. 
R.  D.  Lewis,  52  Westmoreland  Place,  St. 
Louis,  Mo. 

W.  T.  Burkhart,  3  Centre  St.,  Howell,  N.Y. 
May  LaBrash,  Wimbleton,  N.D. 
Also  a  sweater  —  a  beautiful  soft  one  —  was 
received   from   Anna   H.  Wyckhoff,  Asbury, 
Warren  Co.,  New  Jersey. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  many 
kindnesses  which  you  are  continually  doing  for 
all  of  us,  believe  me 

Very  truly  yours 

HENRY  C.  LEWIS 
1st  Lieut.  U.S.  Air  Service 
for  the  A.R.C.  Committee 

Ukrainer  lager,  Rastatt,  Baden,  Oct.  25,  1918 

American  Red  Cross, 

Berne,  Switzerland. 
GENTLEMEN  : 

Your  letter  of  Sept.  27th  to  hand  and 
was  referred  to  Ex-President  Hallyburton  and 
myself  for  reply  upon  our  arrival  here  on  the 
22nd  inst. 

156 


MEMBERS  OF  RASTATT  CAMP  COMMITTEE 

Sitting:  Sergeant  G.  C.  O'Kelly.     Standing,  left  to  right:  Corporal  W.  C. 
Dietrich,  Sergeant  M.  V.  Barrett,  Corporal  Jules  Martin,  Corporal 

Joseph  Stonina,  and  Corporal  W.  E.  Moore 

The  picture  shows  the  excellent  condition  of  the  prisoners  as 

they  came  out  of  Germany 


Appreciation 

Your  opening  paragraph  accurately  depicts 
conditions  as  they  existed  when  our  letter  Sept. 
1 8th  was  drafted.  Our  attitude  may  have  been 
extremely  critical,  but  we  were  acting  on  the  sug- 
gestion made  by  Mr.  Ellis  Loring  Dresel  as  far 
back  as  February,  1918,  i.e.,  commenting  on  the 
service  as  it  appeared  to  us  at  the  time.  We  are 
pleased  to  be  able  to  state  that  your  service  is 
A I  now,  according  to  reports  of  the  Committee, 
and  we  regret  our  enforced  absence  in  another 
camp  did  not  permit  us  to  comment  favorably 
upon  your  good  work  sooner.  Right  here  we  wish 
to  say,  the  camp  committee  here  as  constituted 
at  present  is  most  efficient  and  you  need  not 
hesitate  to  confide  in  their  ability  and  trust- 
worthiness. We  feel  sure  they  are  anxious  to 
profit  by  your  criticisms,  adverse  or  otherwise, 
and  will  not  hesitate  to  reciprocate  if  conditions 
warrant.  President  O'Kelley  and  Secretary 
Moore  are  just  the  right  men  in  the  right  place. 

Yours  very  sincerely 
(Signed)  EDGAR  M.  HALLYBURTON 

Ex-Pres.  Am.  Help  Com. 
CHARLES  A.  GEOGHEGAN 

Ex-Sec'y  Am.  Help  Com. 

157 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Rastatt,  Ukrainerlager 
October  19,  1918 

American  Red  Cross, 

8,  Hirschengraben,  Berne. 
Att.  Mr.  C.  P.  Dennett. 
DEAR  SIRS: 

It  is  rather  hard  to  answer  your  com- 
munication of  October  16,  1918,  as  the  thanks 
I  feel  cannot  be  expressed  in  words  for  the  help 
you  have  given  my  mother  and  the  relief  you 
have  given  myself.  However,  my  appreciation 
that  I  cannot  express  in  words  shall  be  shown 
here  in  my  actions  as  an  American. 

I  am  also  enclosing  the  allotment  applications 
filled  and  signed  with  the  exception  of  the  sta- 
tion which  I  was  not  sure  of. 

Thanking  you  again  for  all  that  you  have 
done  for  me,  I  am 

Yours  very  sincerely 
Pvr.  HERBERT  F.  UELTZ 
nth  Engrs.  Rwy.  16$,  Co.  F 

t  Berne,  Nov.  7,  1918 

The  several  officers  of  the  American  Flying 
Corps,  Infantry  and  Engineers  who  have  to-day 

158 


Appreciation 

received  clothing,  food,  toilet  articles  and  to- 
bacco from  Lieut.  Shea,  extend  their  grateful 
acknowledgment  to  the  American  Red  Cross. 
Signed:  H.  C.  LANDON 

Captain  roist  Engineers 

Karlsruhe 

(Extract  from  Camp  Committee  Report  of  Karlsruhe, 
October  26,  1918) 

I  shall  report  in  full  upon  the  last  shipment 
and  disposal  of  previous  one.  During  the  past 
week  some  sixty  American  officers  have  passed 
through  the  camp.  To  them  you  are  good 
fairies  and  I  am  named  Santa. 

(Sgd)  LIEUT.  THOMAS  P.  SHEA 

(Extract  from  Camp  Committee  Report  of  Darmstadt, 
October  24,  1918) 

It  has  been  a  great  help  to  us  to  have  received 
the  clothing  and  food  supplies  sent  to  us.  Men 
come  here  from  the  front,  sick,  wounded,  dirty 
and  hungry,  and  it  makes  new  men  of  them  to 
receive  clean  clothes  and  good  food. 

(Sgd)  CORPORAL  EDWARD  J.  BARNES 

President,  American  Committee,  Darmstadt 
.159 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Colonel  Walter  D.  Webb,  commanding  offi- 
cer at  Vichy,  writes  Am.  Red  Cross  Headquar- 
ters, December  19,  1918: 

"Am  sure  it  will  interest  you  to  hear  of  my 
interviews  with  repatriate  American  prisoners 
from  Germany.  Principal  topic  of  their  con- 
versation is  praise  of  what  Amcross  did  for 
them  while  they  were  prisoners.  Many  of  them 
have  stated  that  they  think  they  would  have 
starved  if  it  had  not  been  for  Amcross  boxes. 
Many  arrived  here  with  these  boxes  under  their 
arms,  used  as  lockers  for  their  souvenirs  and 
personal  effects." 

October  12,  1918 

Mr.  C.  P.  Dennett, 

Deputy  Com'r,  American  Red  Cross, 

Berne,  Switzerland. 
DEAR  MR.  DENNETT: 

Yesterday  I  received  a  post-card  from 
the  Red  Cross  at  Berne,  dated  August  22nd, 
saying  that  you  have  had  a  cable  advice  from 
Washington  requesting  that  a  credit  of  one 
hundred  dollars  be  established  for  me  on  your 
books.  To-day  came  your  letter  of  October  1st 
160 


Appreciation 

in  which  you  say  that  500  francs  has  been  placed 
at  my  credit  with  you,  by  the  Paris  branch  of 
the  Equitable  Trust  Co.,  and  that  you  have 
sent  me  225  francs  of  this  sum.  Yet  another 
card,  dated  August  3Oth,  which  I  received  last 
week,  says  that  on  that  date  you  sent  me  250 
francs.  So  that,  up  to  the  present  you  have 
sent  me  a  total  of  475  francs.  That's  right, 
isn't  it? 

I  have  not  yet  received  either  of  the  sums 
which  you  have  sent  me  but  no  doubt  they  are 
on  the  way  to  me.  Will  you  please  hold  the  bal- 
ance which  you  have  for  me,  until  December 
first,  and  from  that  date  send  me  a  monthly 
allowance  of  twenty  dollars  as  long  as  I  remain 
a  prisoner?  Then,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  or  so 
soon  as  we  are  exchanged,  I  will  settle  my  ac- 
count with  you. 

May  I  impose  upon  the  Red  Cross  to  the  ex- 
tent of  asking  some  one  in  your  office  to  write  a 
few  brief  letters  for  me?  It  will  be  a  great  serv- 
ice which  I  shall  much  appreciate.  The  letters 
are  as  follows: 

(As  these  letters  were  personal,  they  are  not 
reproduced  here.) 

161 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

I'm  afraid  that  this  is  a  very  "cheeky"  re- 
quest, as  well  as  a  very  large  order.  But  I 
do  hope  that  some  of  you  kind  people  may 
be  willing  to  fill  it.  I  shall  be  tremendously 
grateful. 

I  wonder  if  you  know  how  deeply  all  of  us 
unfortunate  "gefangenen  "  appreciate  what  you 
are  doing  for  us  ?  Now  this  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  tactful  forerunner  of  future  requests.  No, 
by  Jove!  We  swear  by  the  American  Red  Cross, 
every  man  of  us.  It  would  do  your  heart  good 
to  see  us  on  parcel  day.  The  morale  goes  away 
up,  sky  high.  We're  like  a  lot  of  youngsters. 

By  the  way,  the  carload  of  emergency  food 
which  you  sent  us  September  I3th  has  just  ar- 
rived and  it  was  most  sorely  needed,  as  personal 
parcels  have  not  been  coming  for  about  three 
weeks,  and  we  have  a  lot  of  new  arrivals,  too. 
This  is  not,  of  course,  the  official  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  shipment.  Lt.  Browning,  Chair- 
man of  the  Camp  Red  Cross  Committee,  will 
send  you  this  as  soon  as  we  can  check  all  the 
goods. 

I'm  enclosing  a  paper  from  the  Red  Cross 
which  I  have  just  received.  No  doubt  the  cards 

162 


Appreciation 

asked  for  have  reached  you  before  this.  I  have 
returned  each  one  promptly. 

Very  sincerely 

CAPTAIN  JAMES  N.  HALL 

Offizier  Kriegsgefangenenlager 

Landshut,  Bayern 

October  20,  1918 

Mr.  C.  P.  Dennett, 

American  Red  Cross,  Berne,  Suisse. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  DENNETT: 

Having  just  received  several  letters,  and 
being  unable  to  answer  them  due  to  the  postal 
regulations,  I  wish  you  would  do  me  the  fa- 
vor of  dropping  a  line  to  each  of  the  senders, 
acknowledging  their  delightful  notes  and  ex- 
plaining why  I  am  unable  to  reply  direct. 

(Here  follow  five  names  and  addresses,  with 
statement  of  what  he  wishes  said.) 

I  am  well,  happy,  content,  provided  with 
ample  food  and  clothing. 

Thanking  you  for  your  many  past  favors  and 
thanking  you  in  advance  for  writing  the  above 
letter,  believe  me,  as  ever, 


Chapter  XI 

AGREEMENTS  AND  TREATIES 

THE  United  States  Government  took  the  posi- 
tion that  it  was  not  to  be  considered  a  party  to 
either  the  Hague  or  the  Geneva  Convention 
during  the  present  war.  This  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  Germans  invariably  invoked  the 
Geneva  Convention  or  the  Hague  Convention 
when  it  was  convenient  for  them  to  do  so  to 
gain  some  point,  and  never  hesitated  to  violate 
any  feature  of  these  agreements  when  it  was  to 
their  advantage  to  do  so.  As  the  policy  of  Ger- 
many was  to  use  the  treaties  solely  for  their  own 
ends,  violating  or  invoking  them  both  at  will,  it 
obviously  afforded  no  protection  to  the  United 
States,  and  the  only  step  possible  for  our  gov- 
ernment was  to  notify  Germany  that  neither 
of  these  conventions  was  to  be  considered  as 
binding. 

Both  of  these  treaties  specifically  provided 
for  the  treatment  and  status  of  prisoners  of  war. 
As  the  United  States  was  not  to  be  considered 
a  party  to  either  treaty  and  as  there  was  no 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

prisoner  of  war  agreement  between  Germany 
and  the  United  States,  it  left  no  agreement  of 
any  kind,  except  the  treaty  of  1799,  which  only 
applied  to  Prussia,  under  which  to  work  with 
reference  to  prisoners  of  war.  We  were  left, 
therefore,  with  only  the  hope  of  humane  treat- 
ment or  the  alternative  of  reprisals. 

The  immediate  result  was  that  the  American 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Germans  were  at  first 
badly  treated  in  many  respects,  and  there  was 
great  and  needless  delay  in  reporting  them  as 
prisoners.  It  was  frequently  months  before  miss- 
ing men  could  be  located  and  they  were  not  in 
a  position  meanwhile  to  communicate  with 
their  families  or  with  relief  bureaus.  There  was 
no  agreement  which  permitted  them  to  com- 
municate at  all  or  to  notify  any  one  that  they 
were  prisoners.  This  made  it  very  difficult  to 
provide  them  with  the  necessities  of  life  which 
were  so  essential  under  conditions  in  Germany, 
especially  so  with  the  absolute  disregard  by  the 
German  authorities  of  everything  pertaining  to 
the  welfare  of  the  prisoners  in  their  hands. 

The  need  of  some  special  agreement  for  the 
protection  of  prisoners  of  war  was  seen  both  by 

165 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

Great  Britain  and  France,  and  both  of  these 
countries  arranged  for  delegates  to  meet  rep- 
resentatives of  the  German  Government  to 
draw  up  agreements  for  the  treatment  and 
repatriation  of  prisoners.  The  English  agree- 
ment was  dated  July  2,  1917,  and  the  first 
French  agreement,  December,  1917,  effective 
March  15,  1918,  supplemented  May  15,  1918. 

The  American  Government  attempted  to  ar- 
range a  conference  in  the  spring  of  1918  for  the 
purpose  of  drawing  an  agreement  for  the  treat- 
ment and  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war,  and  the 
German  Government  agreed  to  a  conference  to 
be  held  in  the  month  of  June,  1918.  This  was 
later  postponed  until  August  and  then  Sep- 
tember 23,  1918,  on  which  date  the  delegates 
of  the  two  governments  met  at  Berne,  Switzer- 
land. 

The  delegates  of  the  United  States  were  Hon. 
John  W.  Garrett,  Minister  to  The  Hague; 
General  Kernan,  U.S.A.;  Hon.  John  W.  Davis, 
Solicitor-General  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, later  Ambassador  to  Great  Britain;  and 
Captain  Hough,  of  the  United  States  Navy. 

The  delegates  of  the  German  Government 
166 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

were  Count  Montgelas,  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary; Dr.  von  Keller,  Counselor  of  Legation; 
Major  Drundt;  Captain  Wilke,  of  the  German 
Navy;  Von  Hindenburg,  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary and  chief  of  the  prisoners'  section  of  the 
German  Legation  in  Berne.  Major-General 
Friedrich  was  to  have  headed  the  German  dele- 
gates, but  he  died  just  before  the  convention 
met. 

The  conference  ended  and  the  agreement  was 
signed  November  9,  1918,  two  days  before  the 
armistice.  We,  therefore,  had  no  agreement  of 
any  description  to  work  under  during  the  war. 
However,  when  executed  it  was  the  best  pris- 
oner of  war  agreement  yet  drawn  and  would 
have  been  of  immense  value  had  the  war  con- 
tinued. 

The  United  States  delegates  held  preliminary 
meetings  in  Paris,  and  as  I  had  been  building 
up  a  system  for  the  practical  work  of  locating, 
feeding,  and  clothing  the  American  prisoners  in 
the  hands  of  the  German  forces,  reporting  them 
to  the  General  Headquarters  of  the  American 
Expeditionary  Forces  in  France,  and  placing 
them  in  touch  with  their  families,  I  was  re- 
167 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

quested  to  prepare  a  brief  covering  the  principal 
points  affecting  our  prisoners  which  were  not 
included,  or  only  partially  covered,  in  previous 
agreements  between  England,  France,  and  Ger- 
many. 

On  September  n,  1918,  I  forwarded  to  the 
preliminary  conference  at  Paris  a  memorandum 
of  the  points,  which,  in  my  judgment,  should 
be  particularly  covered  in  the  new  agreement. 
The  necessity  for  having  these  features  included 
had  been  clearly  indicated  by  actual  interviews 
with  hundreds  of  prisoners  returning  from  Ger- 
many, by  communications  received  from  Ameri- 
can prisoners  in  Germany,  from  reports  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Spanish  Embassy,  and 
from  long  interviews  with  Bonita  Sarda,  the 
Spanish  Embassy  representative  who  had  been 
visiting  our  prisoners  in  Germany  and  was  sent 
out  from  Berlin  at  our  request,  especially  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  this  information.  Many 
of  the  points  which  it  was  desired  to  cover  were 
already  provided  for  in  the  French  and  English 
agreements,  and  the  object  of  my  memorandum 
was  to  suggest  matters  not  already  incorporated 
or  imperfectly  covered  in  previous  agreements 
168 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

and  which  were  vital  to  the  welfare  of  our  pris- 
oners. Practically  all  of  these  suggestions  were 
adopted  in  some  form  and  made  a  part  of  the 
final  agreement. 

Following  are  some  of  the  most  interesting 
extracts  from  the  brief  which  are  included  in  this 
book  because  they  will  bring  the  reader  into  in- 
timate touch  with  some  of  the  living  and  work- 
ing problems  which  required  particular  regula- 
tion in  order  to  protect  our  prisoners  in  the 
German  prison  camps.  They  also  show  that  ac- 
tual working  experience  had  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  it  was  necessary  to  cover  by  agree- 
ment matters  which  ordinarily  a  civilized  nation 
would  provide  for  purely  from  a  humanitarian 
standpoint.  Many  of  these  suggestions  were  to 
remedy  known  abuses  of  which  I  had  obtained 
positive  knowledge  through  various  channels, 
including  returning  prisoners,  escaped  prison- 
ers, and  neutral  delegates.  The  brief  is  not  re- 
produced in  full  as  much  of  it  was  devoted 
to  suggested  extensions  and  additions  to  the 
French  Accord  which  are  omitted  as  they  were 
principally  matters  of  detail  and  not  of  special 
interest. 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

EXTRACTS  FROM  BRIEF  PREPARED  FOR  PROPOSED 
AGREEMENT  WITH  GERMANY  REGARDING  THE 
TREATMENT  OF  AMERICAN  PRISONERS  OF  WAR 

PREFACE 

In  approaching  the  question  of  treatment  of 
American  and  German  prisoners  of  war,  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  conditions 
surrounding  American  prisoners  of  war  are  en- 
tirely different  from  those  surrounding  German 
prisoners  of  war,  for  the  following  reasons : 

1.  The  German  Government  does  not  pro- 
vide adequate  food  to  sustain  life  for  the  Amer- 
ican prisoners  of  war. 

2.  The  German  Government  does  not  pro- 
vide adequate  warm  clothing  for  American  pris- 
oners of  war. 

3.  The  United  States  provides  for  German 
prisoners  of  war  precisely  the  same  food  as  that 
supplied  to  the  American  troops,  which  is  whole- 
some, adequate,  and  even  elaborate. 

4.  The  United  States  provides  for  the  Ger- 
man prisoners  of  war  sufficient  warm  clothing. 

The  American  Government  finds  itself  in  the 
curious  position  of  having  to  feed  and  clothe 

170 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

German  prisoners  of  war  in  its  hands,  and  also 
the  American  prisoners  of  war  in  the  hands  of 
the  German  military  forces.  To  meet  this  con- 
dition, the  United  States  Government  has  made 
arrangements  with  the  American  Red  Cross  by 
which  the  American  Red  Cross  undertakes  to 
do  the  following: 

1.  Obtain  at  the  earliest  possible  moment 
the  names  of  American  prisoners  of  war  in  the 
hands  of  the  German  military  forces. 

2.  Obtain  accurate  camp  addresses  of  these 
American  prisoners  of  war. 

3.  Transmit   this    information   to   General 
Headquarters  of  the  American  Expeditionary 
Forces,  to  the  American  Red  Cross  at  Washing- 
ton, which  in  turn  notifies  the  family  of  the 
prisoner;   and  to  the  American  Red  Cross  at 
Paris  to  clear  its  records  in  connection  with  the 
work  of  searching  for  missing  men  in  the  hos- 
pitals in  France. 

4.  Ship  necessary  relief  supplies  to  American 
prisoners. 

Owing  to  the  failure  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment to  provide  American  soldiers  with  suffi- 
cient food  to  sustain  life,  or  adequate  clothing, 

171 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

the  American  prisoners  of  war  suffer  great  hard- 
ship, which  may  even  lead  to  death,  until  they 
receive  food,  clothing,  soap,  towels,  and  toilet 
articles  from  the  American  Red  Cross,  De- 
partment Prisoners  of  War  at  Berne.  Inas- 
much as  the  German  Government  is  unable  or 
unwilling  to  properly  feed  and  clothe  Amer- 
ican prisoners  of  war,  and  inasmuch  as  the 
American  Government  has  furnished  the  nec- 
essary machinery  to  adequately  provide  for 
these  prisoners,  both  as  to  food,  clothing,  and 
toilet  articles,  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  the  Ger- 
man Government  to  furnish  the  information  as 
to  the  exact  address  of  American  prisoners  of 
war  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  place  the 
American  Red  Cross  in  a  position  to  promptly 
furnish  the  American  prisoners  of  war  with  the 
necessary  food,  clothing,  and  toilet  articles  which 
the  German  Government  should  furnish  but 
fails  to  provide. 

So  long  as  the  American  Government  pro- 
vides proper,  wholesome,  and  adequate  food,  as 
well  as  clothing  and  toilet  articles,  as  at  present, 
for  the  German  prisoners  of  war,  the  same  ne- 
cessity does  not  exist  for  the  earliest  possible 

172 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

information  regarding  these  German  prisoners 
of  war  as  is  the  case  with  American  prisoners  of 
war  who  must  be  subjected  to  intense  suffering, 
and  perhaps  even  death,  through  the  failure 
of  the  German  Government  to  provide  the  ne- 
cessities of  life,  unless  the  German  Government 
furnishes  addresses  to  which  the  necessities  of 
life  may  be  shipped  to  these  prisoners  by  the 
American  Red  Cross  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment. 

Under  present  conditions,  it  takes  a  minimum 
of  approximately  one  month  before  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  is  advised  of  the  address  of  Amer- 
ican prisoners  of  war,  to  which  food  and  cloth- 
ing may  be  sent,  and  it  requires  approximately 
one  month  before  the  food  and  clothing  reach 
the  prisoner  after  it  is  shipped  from  Switzerland. 
This  means  that  the  only  clothing  the  prisoner 
has  for  the  first  two  months  after  capture  is  that 
which  he  wore  at  the  time  of  capture;  that  he  is 
without  soap,  towels,  toilet  articles,  or  proper 
nourishment  for  this  period.  To  reduce  this 
time  the  American  Red  Cross  has  established 
help  committees  in  the  various  camps  where 
there  are  American  prisoners,  and  has  supplies 
173 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

in  the  hands  of  these  committees  consisting  of 
food,  clothing,  and  toilet  articles  that  may  be 
immediately  passed  out  to  newly  arrived  pris- 
oners. It  is  imperative  that  these  help  com- 
mittees, which  are  organized  solely  to  meet  the 
failure  of  the  German  Government  to  ade- 
quately provide  for  its  prisoners  of  war,  should 
be  given  adequate  facilities  for  the  safe  storage 
and  care  of  surplus  food  and  clothing,  and 
special  facilities  for  communicating  with  the 
American  Red  Cross,  Department  Prisoners  of 
War,  at  Berne,  with  reference  to  supplies  re- 
quired, or  the  arrival  of  new  prisoners. 

CAMP  COMMITTEES 

1.  American  prisoners  of  war  shall  have  the 
right  to  elect  camp  committees  to  be  known  as 
"Camp  Help  Committees,"  which  shall  operate 
under  appropriate  by-laws. 

2.  Said  camp  committees  shall  be  empowered 
to  communicate  freely  and  directly  with  the 
American  Red  Cross,  Department  Prisoners  of 
War,  at  Berne,  on  the  following  subjects: 

(a)  Number  and  names  of  prisoners  at  the 
prison  camps. 

174 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

(V)  Number  and  names  of  prisoners  in  the 
hospital  connected  with  the  camp. 

(c)  Number  and  names  of  newly  arrived  pris- 
oners as  rapidly  as  they  arrive. 
,     (d)  Number  and  names  of  prisoners  who  are 
transferred  from  the  camp,  with  statement  as 
to  destination. 

(i)  Amount  of  food  and  clothing  supply  on 
hand,  and  estimated  amount  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing supply  required. 

(/)  Under  items  (a),  (£),  (c\  (d),  and  (e),  the 
following  special  information  may  always  be 
given :  prisoner's  name,  rank,  regiment  number, 
company  number,  prison  number,  prison  camp 
address,  date  of  birth,  place  of  birth,  name 
of  parent,  relative,  or  friend,  size  of  cloth- 
ing; whether  prisoner  uses  tobacco  and  if  so, 
cigars,  cigarettes,  or  pipe;  and  condition  of 
health  —  all  as  indicated  on  card  reproduced 
on  page  176. 

These  cards  shall  be  furnished  to  the  camp 
committees  by  the  American  Red  Cross,  and 
shall  be  printed  in  the  English  language.  Simi- 
lar cards  may  be  provided  by  the  German  Gov- 
ernment to  German  prisoners  of  war,  giving 
175 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 


Name 

Rank Your  No. 

Reg't Co 

Prison  Camp  Address 


Prison  No 

Born  Date 

Born  Place 

Name  of  Parent  (relative  or  friend). 


Address- 


Size  Clothing:   Coat 

Trousers  (waist) Leg 

Collar Gloves Hat..... 

Shoes 

Do  you  use  cigars,  cigarettes  or  pipe? 

Are  you  wounded? 

Message  for  family:  (health,  etc.) 


What  do  you  need  for  clothing? . 


This  card  must  be  filled  out  and  mailed  at  once  in  order  to  supply  you  with  food 
and  clothing,  and  to  advise  your  family  of  your  address. 

AMERICAN  RED  CROSS 
By  CARL  P.  DENNETT 

Deputy  Commissioner 
Department  Prisoners  of  War 


176 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

like  information  and  may  be  printed  in  German, 
and  German  prisoners  may  be  permitted  to  mail 
them  to  their  nearest  friend  or  relative  or  to 
such  relief  bureau  as  may  be  indicated  by  the 
German  Government. 

3.  Said  camp  committees  shall  be  authorized 
and  empowered  to  receive  shipments  of  food 
and  clothing  for  distribution  to  American  pris- 
oners of  war,  and  they  shall  be  provided  at 
each  prison  camp  with  suitable  storage  facilities, 
under  lock  and  key,  for  these  reserve  supplies  of 
food  and  clothing.  Camp  committees,  or  their 
assistants,  shall  have  permission  to  visit  daily, 
whenever  same  may  be  necessary,  such  store- 
houses for  the  purpose  of  making  inventories 
of  supplies  on  hand,  or  distributing  such  sup- 
plies, and,  specifically,  camp  help  committees 
shall  be  authorized  to  do  the  following  things 
in  addition  to  those  enumerated  above: 

(a)  Keep  necessary  books  of  account  of  all 
supplies  received  and  disbursed. 

(V)  Make  up  necessary  blank  reports  of  sup- 
plies received  and  distributed. 

(c)  Secure  proper  receipts  from  the  indi- 
vidual prisoners,  and  mail  originals  or  copies 

177 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

of  these  papers  to  the  American  Red  Cross,  De- 
partment Prisoners  of  War,  at  Berne. 

(d)  Communicate  freely  with  the  American 
Red  Cross,  Department  Prisoners  of  War,  at 
Berne,  on  all  matters  connected  with  supplies 
of  food  or  clothing,  and  all  information  with 
reference  to  the  number  of  prisoners  in  the 
camp,  arrivals  or  departures,  condition  of  health 
of  prisoners,  and  no  such  correspondence  shall 
apply  against  the  regular  allowance  of  four 
postal  cards  and  two  letters  per  month  per- 
mitted to  each  prisoner  as  private  corre- 
spondence. 

4.  Individual  complaints  in  regard  to  treat- 
ment or  conditions  in  the  camp  to  be  taken  up 
with  the  camp  committee,  and  the  camp  com- 
mittee is  to  be  permitted  to  present  these  com- 
plaints to  the  camp  commander  and  represen- 
tative of  the  Spanish  Embassy  who  shall  give 
the  matter  attention  and  report  on  action  taken 
to  the  camp  committee.  Men  making  com- 
plaints shall  not  be  punished  for  making  these 
complaints.  Camp  committees  may  visit  freely 
all  parts  of  the  camp. 

5.  Camp  committees  shall  have  the  privilege 

178 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

of  visiting  men  in  the  lazarets  or  hospitals  con- 
nected with  or  near  the  camp  to  ascertain  their 
condition  of  health,  and  to  take  them  such 
articles  of  food,  clothing,  and  other  supplies 
as  may  be  desired,  and  report  on  their  condi- 
tion to  the  American  Red  Cross,  Department 
Prisoners  of  War,  at  Berne. 

6.  Said  camp  committees  shall  appoint  a 
camp  committee  correspondent  or  representa- 
tive in  every  hospital  and  to  be  attached  to 
each  labor  detachment  and  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  order  and  receive  from  the  camp  commit- 
tee such  provisions  and  supplies  as  may  be  re- 
quired by  his  hospital  or  labor  detachment, 
give  proper  receipts  therefor  and  keep  proper 
records,  copies  or  originals  of  which  shall  be 
sent  to  the  camp  committee.  The  commandants 
of  the  hospitals,  labor  detachments,  and  camps 
must  allow  the  camp  committee  correspondent 
to  communicate  without  restriction  with  the 
camp  committee  regarding  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  food,  clothing,  toilet  articles,  or  other 
supplies  required,  and  the  camp  committee 
must  be  allowed  to  correspond  freely  on  the 
same  subjects  with  the  camp  committee  corre- 

179 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

spondents  and  may  forward  to  such  correspond- 
ents freely  such  supplies  as  may  be  required 
for  the  American  prisoners  in  the  various  hos- 
pitals or  labor  detachments.  No  correspondence 
between  the  camp  committee  and  the  camp 
committee  correspondent  in  hospitals  or  on 
labor  detachments  shall  count  against  the  reg- 
ular allowance  of  four  postals  and  two  letters 
per  month. 

7.  Camp  committees  and  camp  committee 
correspondents  on  labor  detachments  and  in 
hospitals  must  select  such  assistants  as  may  be 
necessary  to  properly  carry  on  their  work,  not 
less  than  one  man  for  each  five  hundred  pris- 
oners belonging  to  each  camp,  whether  the 
prisoners  are  all  at  the  camp  or  out  on  working 
detachments,  but  never  fewer  than  two  assist- 
ants. They  must  not  be  required  to  work  at  any 
other  occupation  as  their  entire  time  will  be 
consumed  in  keeping  the  necessary  records, 
attending  to  the  proper  distribution  of  food 
supplies,  making  the  necessary  reports  in  con- 
nection therewith,  considering  complaints  of 
prisoners,  visiting  the  camp  hospitals  and  doing 
general  welfare  work  for  their  fellow  prisoners. 

1 80 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

8.  The  help  committees,  the  camp  committee 
correspondents  on  labor  detachments,  and  their 
assistants  shall  not  be  transferred  from  the 
camp  to  which  they  are  appointed  except  for 
very  important  reasons  which  shall  be  clearly 
stated  to  the  camp  help  committee  and  com- 
municated through  the  camp  help  committee 
to  the  American  Red  Cross,  Department  Pris- 
oners of  War,  at  Berne,  and  to  the  Spanish 
Embassy  at  Berlin.  Under  no  circumstances, 
shall  they  be  transferred  until  thirty  days  after 
notice  of  transfer  and  their  successors  have  been 
elected  and  have  taken  over  the  supplies  and 
work  and  issued  proper  receipts  for  supplies 
received,  copies  of  which  must  be  sent  to  the 
American  Red  Cross  at  Berne.  The  American 
Red  Cross  at  Berne  can  protest  against  such 
changes  through  the  Spanish  Embassy  and  in 
that  case  the  man  or  men  shall  be  returned,  if 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Spanish  Embassy,  he, 
or  they,  have  been  transferred  without  proper 
reason.  „  ' 

9.  In  all  camps  where  there  is  an  American 
camp  help  committee,  all  supplies  shall  be  ex- 
amined in  the  presence  of  said  camp  committee 

181 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

except  private  parcels  sent  by  others  than  the 
American  Red  Cross.  These  private  parcels 
must  be  examined  in  the  presence  of  the  pris- 
oners to  whom  they  are  sent. 

GENERAL  SUGGESTIONS 

For  all  money  taken  from  prisoners,  there 
shall  be  issued  a  receipt  or  a  form  of  currency 
against  which  they  may  draw  at  any  time,  at 
any  place  they  may  be  in  Germany,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  such  articles  as  they  may  require  and 
not  otherwise  forbidden  to  prisoners  of  war.  The 
receipt  for  currency  must  be  cashed  immediately 
by  the  first  German  authority  on  demand,  to 
such  extent  as  required  for  purchases  by  the 
prisoner  and  new  similar  receipts  or  currency 
issued  for  the  balance,  if  any. 

No  prisoner  shall  be  deprived  under  any  cir- 
cumstances of  any  articles  of  clothing. 

NOTE.  From  reports  received  from  the  Span- 
ish Embassy,  and  from  other  sources,  such  as  es- 
caped prisoners,  it  is  clearly  established  that 
American  prisoners  of  war,  after  capture,  have 
been  deprived  of  their  American-made  shoes,  for 
which  wooden  shoes  have  been  substituted :  they 

182 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

have  also  been  deprived  of  overcoats,  hats,  and 
other  articles  of  wearing  apparel.  On  the  evidence 
of  escaped  prisoners,  Tom  Hitchcock  and  Everett 
Buckley,  it  is  shown  that  aviators  have  had  taken 
from  them  their  fur-lined  boots,  coats,  and  gloves. 
The  matter  of  depriving  American  prisoners  of 
war  of  their  leather  shoes  has  apparently  become 
an  established  custom  in  Germany.  In  one  report 
from  the  Spanish  Embassy  on  prison  conditions 
at  Tuchel,  the  Commander  of  the  Prison  stated 
that  he  took  the  leather  shoes  away  from  Ameri- 
can prisoners  of  war  on  a  direct  order  from  the 
Minister  of  War.  It  has  sometimes  been  the  prac- 
tice to  give  the  prisoners  a  receipt  for  these  shoes 
and  advise  them  that  they  would  be  returned  to 
them  at  a  later  date,  but  the  shoes  have  not 
been  returned.  Below  is  a  copy  of  a  receipt  issued 
to  American  prisoner  Tom  Hitchcock  for  shoes 
taken  from  him: 

2  Gefangenen-Komp 

Lager  Lechfeld  Lager  Lechfeld  20.  7.  18 

Bescheinigung 

Dem  amerikanischen  Flieger  HITCHCOCK  wur- 
den  ein  Paar  Stiefel,  ein  Paar  Pelzhandschuhe 
und  ein  Lederleibriemen  abgenommen. 
(Signed)  HALLER 

Hauptmann  und  Kompagniefuhrer 

183 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

It  should  be  provided  that  prisoners  shall, 
within  three  days  after  arrival  in  interior  camps, 
advise  the  address  to  which  correspondence 
and  packages  may  be  sent,  and  should  be 
obligatory.  The  card  of  advice  should  be  printed 
in  English  and  be  similar  to  the  card  already 
reproduced,  and  should  be  addressed  to  the 
American  Red  Cross,  Department  Prisoners  of 
War,  at  Berne,  instead  of  to  family  of  the  pris- 
oner, for  reasons  already  stated.  None  of  these 
cards  should  count  in  the  authorized  corre- 
spondence. 

All  prisoners  charged  with  misdemeanor  or 
crime  should  be  tried  within  seven  days,  and  in 
any  sentence  imposed,  the  seven  days  spent  in 
awaiting  trial  shall  count  as  part  of  the  sen- 
tence. 

Punishments  should  be  absolutely  limited  to 
confinement  in  properly  lighted,  ventilated,  and 
heated  enclosures  with  deprivation  of  liberty 
and  special  privileges;  but  no  prisoner  should  be 
deprived  of  food  parcels  or  the  right  to  receive 
or  send  mail  while  undergoing  special  pun- 
ishment. 

Prisoners  should  not  be  punished  for  lying. 
184 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

NOTE.  We  have  had  reports  of  prisoners  mak- 
ing complaint  as  to  their  treatment,  having  been 
accused  of  lying  in  making  such  protest,  and  of 
having  been  specially  punished  for  lying  or  com- 
plaining. This  offers  opportunities  for  great  abuse, 
which  should  be  eliminated. 

Prisoners  undergoing  punishment  shall  re- 
ceive medical  examination  when  they  request  it, 
and  shall  receive  any  medical  attention  neces- 
sary, and  shall  be  removed  to  the  hospital  under 
suspension  of  sentence  until  they  are  physically 
in  proper  condition  to  commence  or  complete 
the  sentence.  Prisoners  undergoing  punishment 
must  always  be  protected  against  extreme  heat 
or  extreme  cold.  They  must  be  supplied  with 
mattresses  and  two  blankets,  and  their  own 
blankets,  if  any.  Prisoners  undergoing  special 
punishment  shall  always  be  permitted  to  send 
for  a  representative  of  the  camp  committee  to 
register  any  complaint  as  to  treatment  and 
camp  committee  president  shall  promptly  go  to 
the  prisoner.  Prisoners  undergoing  punishment 
shall  be  permitted  to  take  regular  baths  and  shall 
have  proper  toilet  facilities  provided,  or  should 
be  permitted  to  go  to  the  toilet  on  demand. 

185 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

WORKING  RULES  FOR  PRISONERS  OF  WAR 

It  is  important  that  the  rules  under  which 
prisoners  of  war  may  be  compelled  to  work, 
and  classes  of  work  to  which  they  shall  be  as- 
signed, shall  be  clearly  defined.  It  should  be 
provided: 

1.  American  prisoners  of  war  should,  under 
no  circumstances,  be  employed  in  salt  mines, 
coal  mines,  or  any  underground  work  of  any 
description,  nor  should   they  be  employed  in 
marshes  where  it  is  required  that  they  should 
stand  in  water  for  long  periods  of  time. 

(After  talking  with  a  great  many  prisoners  of 
war  returning  from  Germany  who  have  worked 
in  salt  or  other  mines,  it  is  clear  that  the  salt 
mines  are  especially  unhealthful  places  in  which 
to  work,  and  that  abuses  are  practiced  upon  pris- 
oners working  underground  where  there  is  not 
the  restraint  upon  their  guards  or  upon  their  fel- 
low workmen  that  exists  when  they  are  above 
ground.) 

2.  Prisoners  should  be  classified  according 
to  their  ability  to  work  in  the  various  occupa- 
tions. Men  who  are  unused  to  heavy  labor,  or 
men  who  are  convalescing  from  wounds,  or 

1 86 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

recovering  from  illness,  should,  under  no  cir- 
cumstances, be  allowed  to  work  at  heavy  labor. 

(See  Spanish  Embassy  report  of  August  22, 
1918,  showing  that  E.  McGrath  was  obliged  to 
work  when  suffering  from  wound.) 

It  is  the  custom,  at  least  in  some  of  the 
German  camps,  such  as  Westphalia,  to  have 
the  camp  doctor  classify  the  men  in  working 
categories  suitable  to  their  physical  condition. 
These  classifications  at  Westphalia  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

i  a  —  mines,  coke  furnaces,  industries; 

1  b  —  industries  and  agriculture; 

2  a  —  agriculture  and  light  work; 

2  bd  —  work  in  the  camp; 

3  —  unqualified  to  work. 

The  great  majority  of  the  prisoners  are 
placed  in  the  first  category.  At  Westphalia  camp 
we  are  advised  that  there  have  been  abuses  and 
that  the  recommendations  of  the  doctor  have 
at  times  been  changed,  and  that  men  have  been 
doing  heavy  work  who  were  not  used  to  such 
labor,  in  spite  of  the  doctor's  recommendations, 
and  that  this  has  been  responsible  for  the  death 
of  a  number  of  prisoners;  that  the  camp  doctor 
187 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

has  protested  to  the  "Feldwebel"  with  refer- 
ence to  this  conduct,  but  that  the  "Feldwebel" 
was  neither  replaced  nor  punished. 

There  have  also  been  abuses  in  sending  law- 
yers, professors,  instructors,  and  similar  types  of 
men  to  work  in  the  mines.  These  men  were  not 
used  to  hard  labor  of  this  kind,  and  it  indicates 
the  necessity  of  some  provision  for  properly 
classifying  the  man  under  medical  inspection  for 
the  various  classes  of  work. 

The  punishments  for  those  who  would  not 
work  in  productive  fashion  at  Westphalia  were 
frequent,  and  consisted  of  imprisonment  with 
or  without  privation  of  nourishment,  being 
bound  to  a  stake,  standing  erect  and  motionless 
for  hours,  and  exposure  to  cold  after  coming  out 
of  a  warm  room;  also  exposure  to  acid  vapors 
or  being  placed  in  dark  rooms.  The  present 
agreement  should  positively  do  away  with  any 
such  form  of  punishment. 

At  certain  mines  or  industries,  lewd  women 
have  been  worked  with  the  prisoners.  This 
should  be  prohibited. 

Prisoners  who  are  wounded  may  send  tele- 
grams to  the  American  Red  Cross,  Department 

1 88 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

Prisoners  of  War,  at  Berne,  not  oftener  than 
once  a  week,  as  to  the  condition  of  their  health. 
The  American  Red  Cross  to  transmit  this  in- 
formation to  their  families.  The  expense  of  such 
telegrams  to  be  borne  by  the  prisoner,  or  by  the 
American  Red  Cross,  as  may  be  determined. 

American  prisoners  of  war  are  to  be  permitted 
to  receive  clothing  and  food  from  French  or 
English  Help  Committees. 

(See  telegram  to  Spanish  Embassy,  under  date 
of  August  27th,  from  American  Legation,  Berne, 
stating  that  the  American  Red  Cross  has  made 
arrangements  with  the  French  and  British  camp 
help  committees  to  extend  assistance  to  American 
soldiers,  and  requesting  the  Prussian  Minister  of 
War  to  authorize  the  commandants  of  camps  to 
permit  this  assistance.  Also  see  report  from  the 
Spanish  Embassy  at  Berlin,  under  date  August  6, 
on  camp  at  Lamsdorf,  to  the  effect  that  the  men 
were  in  bad  condition  as  food  supplies  had  not 
arrived  from  Berne,  and  the  French  camp  help 
committee  had  been  refused  permission  by  the 
camp  commandant  to  come  to  the  assistance  of 
the  American  prisoners  on  the  ground  that  he  did 
not  know  whether  the  French  committee  had  the 
necessary  permission  or  that  he  could  authorize 
the  French  committee  to  extend  such  assistance. 

189 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

The  camp  commandant  appeared  neither  to  have 
made  enquiries  nor  requested  instructions.) 

Facilities  for  cooking  food  to  be  provided,  and 
opportunity  for  obtaining  fuel  for  this  purpose. 

Prisoner's  food  packages  to  be  censored  only 
once  and  this  in  the  presence  of  the  camp  com- 
mittee, if  there  be  one,  if  not,  in  the  presence 
of  the  prisoner  himself. 

Length  of  detention  in  quarantine  to  be 
determined,  and  prisoners  to  be  permitted  to 
advise  of  their  presence  in  quarantine  by  tele- 
gram or  card,  which  shall  not  count  in  the 
regular  authorized  correspondence,  and  also  to 
receive  food  parcels.  At  regular  quarantine 
camps,  where  American  prisoners  are  to  be 
sent,  a  permanent  American  Red  Cross  camp 
committee  shall  be  left  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
ceiving and  distributing  relief  supplies. 

Prisoners  not  to  be  lodged  in  any  underground 
huts  with  ventilation  and  light  only  from  the 
roof,  as  was  the  case  at  Tuchel. 

Adequate  facilities  shall  be  provided  for  the 
men  to  do  their  laundry  work. 

Bathing  facilities  shall  be  provided  so  that 
each  prisoner  may  take  a  bath  at  least  once  a 

190 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

week.  Prisoners  who  are  undergoing  punishment 
shall  be  provided  with  adequate  facilities  for 
washing  and  for  baths  at  least  once  a  week. 

Prisoners  of  war  shall  be  placed  in  a  position 
to  execute  any  necessary  powers  of  attorney 
or  other  legal  documents  which  may  be  re- 
quired in  connection  with  their  affairs.  The  nec- 
essary officer  for  administering  the  required 
oaths,  as  well  as  witnesses,  shall  be  provided  by 
the  captor  state  within  one  week  of  receipt  of 
request  from  the  prisoner,  or  from  his  camp 
committee,  or  from  the  camp  committee  cor- 
respondent. This  service  should  be  rendered 
without  expense,  and  the  sending  of  such  docu- 
ments shall  not  count  in  the  prisoner's  regular 
allowance  of  correspondence. 

Each  government  shall  provide  death  certi- 
ficates in  such  legal  form  as  may  be  required  to 
conform  to  the  laws  of  the  respective  govern- 
ments, for  all  prisoners  who  may  die  while  in 
the  hands  of  the  captor  state.  They  shall  also 
furnish  death  certificates  for  all  aviators  who 
shall  fall  and  die  within  the  enemy's  lines.  Each 
government  shall  furnish  identification  of  places 
of  burial  in  such  form  that  such  burial  places 

191 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

may  be  identified  and  visited  by  the  families 
after  the  war. 

Each  government  shall  return  to  the  other 
the  personal  effects  of  all  prisoners  who  die 
while  in  the  hands  of  the  captor  state,  and  of 
aviators  who  fall  within  the  enemy's  lines.  All 
death  certificates  and  identification  of  places  of 
burial  shall  be  forwarded  by  the  German  Gov- 
ernment to  the  American  Red  Cross,  Depart- 
ment Prisoners  of  War,  at  Berne,  direct  or 
through  the  intermediary  of  the  Berlin  Red 
Cross,  the  Frankfort  Red  Cross,  the  Bureau  de 
la  Paix,  or  the  International  Red  Cross. 

The  United  States  Government  shall  forward 
all  death  certificates  and  identification  of  places 
of  burial  through  such  channels  as  the  German 
Government  may  direct.  All  personal  effects  of 
prisoners  dying  in  prison  camps  and  of  all  avia- 
tors falling  within  the  enemy's  lines  shall  be 
delivered  to  the  Spanish  Embassy  at  Berlin 
who  shall  send  them  by  courier  to  the  American 
Legation  at  Berne;  the  American  Legation  at 
Berne  to  deliver  them  to  the  American  Red 
Cross,  Department  Prisoners  of  War,  at  Berne, 
to  be  forwarded  to  the  families  of  the  deceased. 

192 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

No  American  prisoner  of  war  shall  be  placed 
in  camps  commonly  known  as  "Reprisal 
Camps,"  or  in  any  prison  camp  located  close  to 
munition  factories  or  military  establishments. 

All  prison  camps  shall  be  distinctly  marked 
so  that  their  character  may  be  easily  discerned 
from  the  air. 

PRISON  FACILITIES 

These  should  consist  of  the  following : 

a.  Air  space  per  man,  enlisted,  shall  be  not 
less  than  7.37  cu.  m.;  floor  space  per  man,  en- 
listed, shall  be  not  less  than  3  sq.  m. 

b.  Shower  baths,  with  twenty  sprays,  shall  be 
furnished  for  each  eight  hundred  men  enclosure. 

c.  One  fifteen-hole  latrine  shall  be  furnished 
for  each  four  hundred  prisoners. 

d.  Prisoners  of  war,  seriously  wounded,  or 
otherwise,  shall  not  be  sent  to  prisoner  of  war 
enclosures,  but  to  hospitals. 

In  case  prisoners  are  to  be  transferred  from 
one  camp  to  another  or  to  be  sent  out  on  work- 
ing parties,  they  shall  be  so  notified  twenty- 
four  hours  in  advance  and  are  to  communicate 
the  address  to  the  camp  committee,  so  that 

193 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

mail  and  packages  may  be  discontinued  to  the 
old  address  and  sent  to  the  new. 

Men  on  leaving  camp  for  working  parties 
shall  always  be  allowed  to  take  an  adequate 
supply  of  food  and  clothing,  also  toilet  articles, 
from  their  camp  supplies. 

Hours  of  work  shall  be  carefully  regulated 
and  agreed  upon. 

Prisoners  shall  not  be  forbidden  to  talk  to 
one  another  except  for  unreasonable  periods. 

Prisoners  on  working  parties  shall  always  be 
supplied  with  a  liberal  quantity  of  pure  drink- 
ing-water, also  sufficient  water  for  cooking  and 
bathing  purposes,  and  shall  be  allowed  to  visit 
the  toilets  upon  demand. 

There  have  been  cases  where  men  on  working 
parties  have  been  refused  permission  to  attend 
to  the  calls  of  nature  for  considerable  periods, 
and  have  suffered  greatly  in  consequence. 

Censors  shall  not  strike  out  from  letters  or 
lists  description  of  contents  of  packages. 

All  packing  materials,  such  as  wooden  boxes 
and  containers,  remain  the  property  of  the  camp 
committee  or  the  camp  committee  represent- 
ative correspondents  on  labor  detachments. 

194 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

They  may  use  these  packing  materials  for  re- 
packing supplies  to  be  shipped  to  prisoners  on 
working  Kommandos  or  in  hospitals,  and  for 
any  other  legitimate  purposes,  such  packing 
materials  as  they  do  not  require  they  may  serve 
out  to  be  used  as  fuel,  and  if  it  is  not  required  as 
fuel,  it  should  be  destroyed  by  the  camp  com- 
mittee by  burning. 

In  all  transient  camps,  through  which  Ameri- 
can prisoners  pass  to  their  permanent  camps, 
there  should  be  an  American  Red  Cross  camp 
committee  stationed  permanently,  in  order  to 
take  charge  of  the  supplies  of  food  and  clothing 
and  distribute  them  to  the  prisoners  passing 
through. 

Adequate  dining-rooms  and  kitchens,  also 
storerooms  shall  be  provided  at  each  camp,  so 
that  the  men  shall  have  ample  facilities  for 
cooking  their  food  and  a  warm  dry  place  to  sit 
down  and  eat.  Each  prisoner  shall  have  a  place 
at  table  and  a  seat. 

All  goods  lost  or  stolen  in  transit  shall  be  re- 
placed in  kind. 

There  shall  not  be  placed  at  each  camp  fewer 
than  one  hundred  Americans. 
195 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

NOTE.  There  are  at  this  time  twenty  camps 
containing  eight  or  less  American  prisoners. 

They  shall  have  the  right  to  wear  the  standard 
American  uniforms,  shoes,  overcoats,  and  hats. 

Parcels  sent  from  the  main  camp  to  labor 
detachments  must  always  be  accompanied  by 
a  list  of  the  contents.  The  lists  must  not  be 
withdrawn  from  the  parcels  but  must  be  de- 
livered to  the  prisoner  with  his  parcel. 

Parcels  from  the  American  Red  Cross  at 
Berne  or  from  the  families  of  prisoners  to  the 
prisoners  in  labor  detachments  must  never  be 
censored  in  the  main  camps  to  which  the  prisoner 
belongs,  but  only  in  the  Kommando  where  the 
prisoner  is  working  and  always  in  the  presence 
of  the  prisoner  or  the  camp  committee  corre- 
spondent. He  shall  check  the  contents  with  the 
list  enclosed  in  the  parcel. 

The  German  Government  shall  always  supply 
a  proper  mattress  and  at  least  two  blankets  for 
each  prisoner,  and  each  prisoner  shall  be  sup- 
plied with  a  bed,  and  under  no  circumstances 
shall  he  be  compelled  to  sleep  upon  the  floor. 
The  United  States  Government  or  the  American 
Red  Cross  is  to  have  the  right  to  furnish  one  or 

196 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

two  extra  blankets  to  each  prisoner  and  these 
blankets  may  be  marked  distinctly  in  large 
letters  "American  Red  Cross"  or  "United 
States  Government."  Blankets  may  be  in  such 
color  or  combination  of  colors  as  the  United 
States  Government  or  the  American  Red  Cross 
may  determine,  so  that  such  blankets  may  be 
identified  in  case  of  theft. 

In  the  case  of  a  prisoner  of  war  dying  in 
prison  camp,  working  Kommando,  or  hospital, 
his  personal  effects  shall  be  delivered  to  the 
camp  committee,  and  the  camp  committee 
must  forward  these  effects  to  the  Spanish  Em- 
bassy at  Berlin,  or  such  other  neutral  agency  as 
may  be  determined,  who  shall  forward  these 
personal  effects  to  their  embassy  or  legation  in 
Switzerland  to  be  delivered  to  the  American 
Red  Cross. 

Places  of  burial  of  all  prisoners  shall  be 
clearly  marked  and  identified,  and  a  plan  or 
photograph  shall  be  furnished  to  the  American 
Red  Cross  at  Berne. 

The  matter  of  officers'  pay  should  be  covered  at 
the  time  the  agreement  is  executed,  but  should 
be  covered  by  a  separate  agreement  from  the 

197 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

one  referring  particularly  to  the  treatment  of 
prisoners  of  war,  as  its  ratification  should  not  be 
delayed  by  any  possible  disagreement  over  the 
other  features  of  the  proposed  agreement  for 
treatment  of  American  prisoners,  the  princi- 
ples of  the  agreement  on  officers'  pay  and  rate 
having  already  been  agreed  to  by  the  German 
Government  as  follows : 

The  German  Government  agrees  to  the  pro- 
posals of  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
of  America  relative  to  the  pay  of  officers  who 
have  fallen  into  captivity  on  either  side.  The 
pay  to  be  as  follows : 

1.  350  Marks,  or  83.35  dollars  monthly: 

a.  First    Lieutenants,   Lieutenants    and 
Feldwebelleutnants    of    the     German 
Army;  First  Lieutenants,  Lieutenants, 
Hilfsoberleutnants  and  Hilfsleutnants 

,  of  the  German  Navy. 

b.  First  and  Second  Lieutenants  of  the 
American  Army,  and  the  Lieutenants 
(junior  grade)  of  the  American  Navy. 

2.  400  Marks  or  95.25  dollars  monthly: 

a.  Captains,    Rittmeister,     and     higher 
grades  of  officers  of  the  German  Army; 
198 


Agreements  and  Treaties 

Kapitanleutnants  and  Captains,  also 
the  higher  grades  of  officers  of  the  Ger- 
man Navy,  and  the  Marine  Troops. 
b.  Captains  and  higher  grades  of  officers 
of  the  American  Army;  the  officers  of 
the  American  Navy  with  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant  (senior  grade)  and  higher, 
as  well  as  officers  of  the  American  Ma- 
rine Corps  of  corresponding  rank. 
As  regards  the  other  grades,  referred  to  by 
the  American  Government  as  Class  III,  for 
which  the  German  Government  had  proposed 
two  thirds  of  the  lower  rate  of  pay  for  officers, 
while  the  American  Government  wishes  to  pay 
these  grades  on  an  equal  footing  with  Lieuten- 
ants, a  definite  decision  is  reserved  which  will 
shortly  be  made  public.  It  is  proposed  that  these 
grades  be  given  in  the  meantime  two  thirds  of 
the  pay  of  the  lower  grade  and  that  the  regular 
pay  of  officers  be  put  in  force  immediately,  in- 
dependent of  this  question. 

These  rates  of  pay  apply  to  all  officer  prison- 
ers of  war  regardless  of  whether  they  are  active 
officers,  officers  of  the  reserve  grade,  officers  of 
disposition  or  retired,  or  whether  they  are  re- 

199 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

tired  officers  of  disposition,  and  it  applies  to  the 
same  class  of  officers  who  are  interned  as  civilian 
prisoners  and  whose  rank  is  certified  by  the 
Government  of  the  home  state. 

The  German  Government  agrees  that  the  pay 
to  the  amount  now  agreed  upon  shall  be  paid 
for  the  time  already  passed  in  imprisonment, 
in  so  far  as  the  payment  has  not  taken  place  at 
all  during  this  time  or  not  to  the  amount  of  the 
rates  now  agreed  upon.  In  paying  these  sums, 
however,  such  sums  are  to  be  subtracted  which 
were  paid  temporarily  by  the  protecting  power 
to  the  officers  in  place  of  the  pay  they  had  not 
received,  as  well  as  the  surplus  amounts  which 
were  paid  by  the  American  Government  to  Ger- 
man officers  beyond  the  rates  now  fixed.  The 
German  Government  undertakes  that  these  ex- 
cess payments  will  be  refunded  after  the  con- 
clusion of  peace. 

These  payments  now  agreed  upon  will  be 
ordered  as  soon  as  telegraphic  information  has 
arrived  from  the  American  Government  that 
the  regulations  in  question,  in  the  sense  of  the 
foregoing  remarks,  have  been  made  for  the 
German  officers  in  America. 


Chapter  XII 

ABUSES 

THE  following  incidents  are  related  from  re- 
ports received  by  the  author  at  Berne,  and  are 
considered  absolutely  authentic: 

At  Alten-Grabow  Camp,  in  March,  1915,  a 
man  named  Davergne,  belonging  to  a  regiment 
of  chasseurs,  being  ill  at  night,  crossed  the  court 
toward  the  toilet  when  a  German  sentinel  threw 
himself  on  him  and  stabbed  him  with  a  bayonet. 
Ten  minutes  later  he  died.  On  complaint  being 
made  by  the  French  adjutant  of  the  barracks, 
the  answer  was  received  that:  "The  sentinel  had 
his  orders  and,  in  killing  the  man,  he  had  merely 
done  his  duty." 

Under-officers  only  worked  when  they  made 
the  request  in  writing  and  signed  it,  those  who 
would  not  do  this  being  severely  treated.  Thirty 
Russian  under-officers  refused  to  sign  and  were 
taken  to  Alten-Grabow  Camp  at  the  end  of 
May,  1916,  isolated  in  a  shed  and  condemned 
to  walk  around  with  a  gymnastic  step,  under 
pretext  of  exercise.  After  some  days  of  this, 

20 1 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

broken  by  fatigue  and  nearly  starved,  since  but 
few  parcels  were  sent  from  Russia,  and  without 
them  it  meant  famine,  the  under-officers  stated 
to  Rittmeister  Gartner,  commander  of  the  third 
company  of  the  camp,  that  the  effort  required 
surpassed  their  strength.  The  "rebels,"  as  they 
were  called,  were  shut  up  in  a  shed  used  for 
drying  linen  and  among  other  things  were 
forbidden  to  look  out  of  the  window.  After 
twenty-four  hours  without  food,  when  the  bell 
rang  for  the  distribution  of  soup,  a  starving 
Russian  showed  his  head  at  one  of  the  windows 
and  the  sentinel  fired,  killing  him  and  wound- 
ing another  prisoner  so  seriously  that  he  died 
that  night.  Complaint  was  drawn  up  by  the 
Russian  doctor,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tarlet,  and 
addressed  to  the  Spanish  Embassy  at  Berlin, 
but  was  not  sent,  and  the  doctor  received  a 
warning  from  the  Kommandantur.  As  a  result 
of  this  incident  the  Captain,  fulfilling  the  duties 
of  camp  major,  who  had  given  the  sentinels 
the  order  to  fire,  was  punished  with  a  week's 
arrest  for — "not  being  in  the  proper  uniform 
at  the  moment  of  transmission  of  a  service 
order."  He  had  worn  a  cap  and  not  a  helmet! 
202 


Abuses 

Colonel  von  Auer,  commander  of  the  camp,  was, 
a  few  days  later,  promoted  to  the  grade  of 
major-general. 

Sergeant  J.  Planchenault,of  the  72d  Infantry, 
gave  the  following  information : 

During  the  second  part  of  November,  1916, 
several  thousand  Belgians  of  all  ages,  some  but 
seventeen  and  others  men  of  fifty,  arrived  at 
the  camp  of  Meschede,  Westphalia,  all  of  them 
being  civilians.  Upon  an  order  of  the  Komman- 
dantur,  these  men  had  been  taken  from  their 
homes  (Namur,  Antwerp,  Liege,  La  Louviere, 
etc.)  and  sent  to  Germany  to  replace  German 
workmen  who  had  been  taken  from  mines  and 
factories  to  be  mobilized. 

The  Germans  called  these  convoys,  "Detach- 
ments of  free  laborers."  Upon  their  arrival  in  the 
camp,  these  "free"  workers  were  placed  in  a 
part  separated  by  a  barricade  from  the  prisoners 
of  war  and  ordered  to  have  no  communication 
with  the  latter.  Then  the  doctors  examined 
them,  on  pretext  of  "health,"  but  really  to  ob- 
tain the  strongest  for  the  hardest  labor,  which 
was  not  an  easy  matter.  After  these  visits,  the 
203 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

German  authorities  asked  for  volunteers,  say- 
ing that  they  would  be  well  paid  for  the  work. 
There  were  only  a  few  volunteers.  Then  began 
intimidation  by  hunger  against  the  "strikers." 
For  these  men,  who  already  gave  the  impres- 
sion of  having  the  germs  of  tuberculosis,  two 
soups  a  day  were  served,  wretched  flour  mixed 
with  warm  water  in  tubs,  so  well  known  in  Ger- 
man prison  camps. 

Sickness  soon  made  ravages,  and  many  were 
sent  to  the  hospital  where  they  received  no  more 
food  than  in  the  camp,  no  medicines,  and  where 
there  were  no  nurses  to  care  for  them.  The  suf- 
ferer had  a  bed,  that  was  all.  There  was  but 
one  physician  for  five  barracks,  each  containing 
some  sixty  beds,  and  he  merely  passed  through 
one  or  two  rooms  so  as  to  make  out  his  papers 
of  attendance.  One  day,  reaching  the  bed  of  a 
man  who  was  dying  of  a  kind  of  blood  poison- 
ing, he  refused  to  have  the  man  uncovered 
under  pretext  of  the  odor,  and  left  him  to  his 
fate. 

There  were  many  deaths,  the  bodies  of  many 
becoming  so  thin  that  the  bones  seemed  to  lit- 
erally pierce  the  skin.  This  lasted  from  the 
204 


Abuses 

middle  of  November,  1916,  to  the  end  of  March, 
1917. 

For  those  not  in  the  hospitals,  life  was  even 
worse.  Many  of  them  were  sent  to  the  mines  and 
factories  and  the  rest  kept  in  an  enclosure  and 
forbidden  to  leave,  sentinels  guarding  them 
closely.  One  of  them  finally  succeeded  in  climb- 
ing over  the  fence  into  the  French  camp  where 
he  obtained  bread.  Others  followed.  On  return- 
ing to  their  enclosure,  guns  were  awaiting  them. 
But  as  many  still  made  the  attempt  to  cross  the 
wall,  the  guards  hid  and  when  the  unfortunates, 
hearing  no  noise,  thought  the  field  to  be  clear 
and  made  the  attempt,  they  were  received  on 
the  bayonets  and  often  succumbed  to  their 
wounds.  If  the  bayonet  failed,  the  guard  fired 
on  them.  Other  prisoners  would  often  hear  their 
cries  as  they  were  beaten  by  the  sentinels. 

Alphonse  Gaillard,  a  well-known  poet  of  the 
Franche-Conte,  was  at  Mannheim  at  the  begin- 
ning of  April,  1916.  He  saw  Russians  returning 
from  the  French  front  where  they  had  been  sent 
in  reprisal.  They  were  in  rags  and  ghastly  in 
appearance.  They  advanced  slowly,  often  fall- 
205 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ing  from  fatigue  and  weakness,  their  black 
sacks  and  Astrakhan  caps  giving  these  skeletons 
a  tragic  look.  Arrived  at  their  barracks,  they 
could  only  sink  down  on  the  straw  beds.  The 
Frenchmen  took  them  bread  and  other  food, 
the  miserable  sufferers  thanking  them  by  signs 
or  kissing  the  hands  of  their  comrades.  Those 
who  knew  French  told  how  they  had  been  for 
months  on  the  Western  Front,  digging  trenches, 
and  doing  other  defense  work  for  the  Germans. 
They  had  been  brutally  treated  and  suffered 
from  hunger  and  cold,  many  of  them  dying  from 
weakness  or  being  killed  by  French  guns. 

In  April,  1916,  Gaillard,  together  with  other 
professional  men,  was  sent  in  reprisal  to  the  vi- 
cinity of  Forbach,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Murg 
(Baden).  There  the  men  were  put  to  hard  labor 
and  brutally  treated.  One  form  of  work  was  as 
follows:  A  deep  ditch  was  dug  for  a  concrete 
wall.  Carpenters  had  erected  a  scaffolding  of 
several  stories,  on  each  story  of  which  were  two 
prisoners  with  shovels.  Two  big  Germans  threw 
earth  to  the  upper  story,  the  heavy  clay  be- 
ing passed  from  story  to  story.  The  prisoners, 
who  had  never  handled  a  shovel  before,  were 
206 


Abuses 

obliged  to  work  feverishly  to  keep  up  with  the 
men  below,  knowing  that  any  weakness  meant 
prison  and  extra  abuse.  And  this  lasted  for  hour 
after  hour,  until  late  in  the  evening.  At  half- 
past  four  in  the  morning  they  were  awakened 
and  their  toil  began  once  more.  And  so  they 
worked  on,  through  the  heat  of  summer,  the 
rains  of  autumn,  and  the  sharp  winds  of  winter. 

Gaillard  was  sent  to  Raumunsach  to  work 
on  a  tunnel  four  kilometres  in  length.  In  the 
darkness  and  the  dust  the  prisoners  worked, 
with  the  cry  "Quicker,  quicker!"  ever  ringing 
in  their  ears.  At  Kommando  Freitag,  a  sentinel 
broke  a  Frenchman's  arm  with  the  butt  of  his 
rifle,  and  at  the  Kommando  Krappe,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1916,  a  foreman  seized  a  hatchet  and 
broke  the  head  of  a  man  who  paused  for  an 
instant. 

In  order  to  get  an  exact  idea  of  the  reprisals 
at  Forbach,  it  is  necessary  to  speak  of  the  sheds, 
which  no  neutral  was  allowed  to  visit  and  which 
sheltered  (?)  the  prisoners  at  the  end  of  their 
day's  work.  That  of  Kommando  Holzmann, 
where  Gaillard  spent  some  months,  contained 
seventy  Russians  and  Frenchmen  so  close  to- 
207 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

gether  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  circu- 
late. A  few  beds  were  occupied  by  the  lucky 
ones  —  for  the  others,  a  board  and  bit  of  straw. 
There  was  absolute  lack  of  hygiene  and  a  fright- 
ful odor.  The  men  were  forbidden  to  leave  the 
dormitory  on  Sunday  to  get  air  in  the  court. 

But  when  these  prisoners,  at  the  end  of  their 
strength,  .were  sent  to  some  hospital,  they  found 
others  in  a  still  worse  condition.  There  were  a 
number  of  Roumanians  in  the  hospital  of  Ras- 
tatt  in  November,  1916.  After  the  debacle  of  the 
Roumanian  Army,  thousands  of  prisoners  were 
sent  to  the  Alsace  Front  to  dig  trenches  and 
went  through  every  imaginable  form  of  suffer- 
ing. Nothing  more  terrible  can  be  imagined 
than  the  appearance  and  weakness  of  those  in 
the  hospitals.  They  resembled  nothing  human, 
except  for  their  great,  sad  eyes  deep  in  the 
sockets. 

They  went  by  fours  for  the  medical  ^visit, 
sustaining  each  other,  groaning  as  their  feet 
touched  the  ground,  mere  shadows  of  men,  and 
even  then  the  guards  struck  and  threatened 
them.  To  their  other  sufferings  was  added  that 
of  hunger,  and  at  night,  at  the  risk  of  being  shot, 
208 


Abuses 

those  who  could  do  so,  cut  the  barbed  wire  and 
entered  the  French  prison  camp  to  ask  for  a 
crust  of  bread.  The  French  gave  what  they 
could,  but  it  was  but  little,  and  at  night  the 
Roumanians  would  go  to  the  garbage  pails  con- 
taining the  food  of  the  camp  pigs.  The  sentinels 
struck  them,  but  when  their  backs  were  turned 
the  Roumanians  returned  again  to  the  garbage. 
The  Russians  whom  Gaillard  saw  at  Mann- 
heim were  occupied  with  agricultural  work  from 
April  to  October,  1916,  when  they  were  brought 
back  to  Mannheim  and  told  they  were  to  be  sent 
back  to  the  French  front.  The  Russians  mur- 
mured and  refused  to  go.  Threats  and  blows 
were  in  vain.  The  Germans  then  sent  them  back 
to  their  barracks  and  deprived  them  of  food. 
The  following  day,  on  the  order  for  departure, 
there  was  the  same  immobility.  For  two  days 
the  Russians  opposed  the  force  of  inertia  to  their 
enemies.  On  the  third  day,  the  order  was  given 
for  the  last  time.  There  were  frightful  cries,  the 
Russians  were  kicked  and  beaten.  Suddenly 
they  all  threw  themselves  on  the  ground.  The 
Germans  immediately  rushed  to  the  kitchens 
and  brought  buckets  of  boiling  water  and 

209 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

poured  over  them.  They  sprang  up  but  remained 
motionless.  The  Germans,  furious  at  this  stand, 
telephoned  for  the  guard,  who  came  with  offi- 
cers running  behind  them.  They  struck  right 
and  left,  the  blood  flowing  from  their  victims. 
The  resistance  was  overcome  and  the  Russians 
started  for  the  station,  leaving  ten  dead  and 
fifty  wounded  lying  on  the  ground. 

In  February,  1917,  a  number  of  professional 
men  and  students  were  taken  as  reprisal  to  the 
bombarded  zone,  and  arrived  at  Ervillers, 
where  the  shells  were  falling  close  to  them.  They 
were  placed  in  a  miserable  shack,  and  com- 
pelled to  sleep  on  the  ground,  covered  with 
mud,  without  even  straw.  They  had  marched  all 
day  without  food.  They  had  no  lights,  no  water 
for  washing  —  there  was  only  sufficient  water 
taken  from  the  wells  for  the  soup.  From  seven 
in  the  morning  until  six  at  night,  without  food 
or  drink,  guarded  by  numerous  sentinels,  they 
dug  trenches  and  placed  barbed  wire  within 
four  kilometres  of  the  French  lines.  The  least 
refusal  to  work  was  punished  by  blows;  or  they 
were  fastened  by  wires  to  poles  for  an  entire 
210 


Abuses 

day,  during  the  intense  cold,  without  being 
able  to  move.  They  turned  red,  then  white,  then 
purple  and  finally  fainted,  without  bringing  a 
thought  of  pity  from  their  persecutors. 

The  order  was  that  no  one  was  to  be  recog- 
nized as  ill  and,  even  when  they  could  not  move, 
they  were  carried  to  the  place  of  labor  and  re- 
mained there,  lying  on  the  ground  in  the  cold, 
without  any  care  from  physicians  or  com- 
panions. 

Frequently,  the  men  were  kept  at  the  work- 
ing place  an  hour  after  six  on  some  flimsy  pre- 
text, starving  and  shivering  with  cold.  On  ar- 
riving at  the  camps,  their  covers  were  taken 
away  on  the  pretext  that  they  did  not  get  to- 
gether early  enough  in  the  morning,  and  later 
on  the  German  troops  stationed  at  Ervillers  ap- 
propriated them  altogether,  and  unspeakable 
suffering  ensued. 

As  for  food,  they  were  given :  in  the  morning, 
coffee;  evening,  barley  and  beet  soup,  occa- 
sionally a  little  meat  or  marmalade.  There  was 
one  regulation  German  loaf  of  bread  every  four 
days.  The  prisoners  were  so  hungry  that  they 
often  ate  this  bread  at  one  meal,  after  which 

211 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

they  had  to  pass  four  days  without  bread.  They 
almost  lost  semblance  of  humanity;  most  of 
them  had  barely  strength  to  drag  themselves 
back  from  the  place  of  labor,  and  fought  with 
their  own  comrades  over  the  pittance  allotted 
them.  One  evening,  a  case  of  marmalade  broke 
and  ran  over  the  ground;  the  men  threw  them- 
selves down  and  taking  it  in  their  hands,  swal- 
lowed marmalade  and  mud !  There  were  no  par- 
cels and  no  letters.  They  were  totally  isolated 
although  but  six  kilometres  from  their  own 
people! 

These  men  were  in  the  Somme  region,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bapaume,  with  heavy  rains 
and  in  deep,  sticky  mud.  They  were  put  to 
digging  an  immense  trench  with  side  passages, 
where  they  quickly  took  refuge  when  the  shells 
began  to  rain  about  them.  Sometimes,  during 
the  intense  cold,  they  lit  little  fires  in  the 
trenches  to  boil  water,  but  one  day  an  officer 
noticed  this  and  the  fires  were  put  out  by  the 
guards.  At  night,  they  went  shivering  to  bed, 
ending  in  a  sleep  of  utter  exhaustion.  In  the 
morning,  very  early,  they  were  chased  out  like 
beasts. 

212 


Abuses 

Daily,  many  of  them  fell  ill  and  on  the  pre- 
text that  German  prisoners  were  left  without 
care  in  France,  their  guards  refused  them  medi- 
cal treatment.  Only  the  dying  were  taken  to  the 
hospitals  in  the  rear  where  they  succumbed. 

There  were  frequent  air  battles  over  their 
heads;  and,  as  they  were  between  the  German 
and  the  French  guns,  shells  rained  on  them  from 
all  sides.  During  the  "strategic  retreat"  of  Hin- 
denburg,  they  were  witnesses  of  the  systematic 
destruction  of  the  country;  towns  and  villages 
were  dynamited,  fruit  trees  cut  down,  churches 
and  bridges  blown  up.  It  was  "the  order"  that 
only  a  desert  should  remain!  And,  as  they  ac- 
companied the  Germans  on  this  retreat,  they 
were  often  stopped  to  allow  wagons  full  of 
"booty"  to  pass. 

They  were  next  taken  to  an  empty  sugar 
mill  between  Arras  and  Cambrai  and  were 
obliged  to  leave  between  one  and  three  in  the 
morning  for  their  work  —  five  kilometres  away 
—  a  long  journey  in  the  midst  of  raining  shells. 
A  number  were  wounded  but  none  killed,  al- 
though in  a  Kommando  nearby  many  were 
killed  as  well  —  killed  by  the  fire  of  their  own 
213 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

people  while  they  were  forced  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet  to  work  against  them.  Many  of 
them  hid  and  when  caught,  were  beaten  and 
shut  up  in  a  cage  of  barbed  wire,  packed  closely 
together  and  kept  on  bread  and  water  until  the 
expiration  of  their  term  of  punishment.  They 
were  in  rags,  their  shoes  gone,  their  feet  wrapped 
up  in  old  cloths. 

On  Easter  Day,  1917,  their  parcels  at  last 
arrived  and  that  night  they  had  a  feast,  which 
gave  them  fresh  strength  and  courage.  Then 
came  further  trials  and  more  suffering,  until  on 
the  1st  of  May,  they  started  back,  passing  by 
Bouchain  and  Denain,  where  the  inhabitants 
greeted  them  with  joy,  throwing  packets  of  food 
and  clothing  to  them  as  they  passed.  And  at 
last  they  reached  the  Camp  of  Miinster  I,  where 
they  waited  until  the  end  of  June  for  their  letters 
and  parcels  and  their  return  to  the  original 
camps. 

In  all  the  localities  they  passed  there  were 
French,  English,  and  Russian  prisoners,  kept 
behind  the  battle  line,  some  of  them  for  two, 
four,  and  some  even  fourteen  months  —  at  Er- 
villers,  Buissy,  Villers.  The  English  were  in  an 
214 


Abuses 

indescribable  state,  without  clothing  or  shoes, 
corpse-like.  There  were  also  Belgian  and  French 
civilians  at  work  near  the  lines. 

Captain  Henderson,  of  the  British  Territori- 
als, told  the  author  that  on  the  night  of  Novem- 
ber 3,  1917,  he  was  badly  wounded  by  a  bullet 
which  tore  away  the  fleshy  part  of  the  thigh, 
leaving  the  sciatic  nerve  exposed.  His  troops 
were  compelled  to  fall  back  and  left  him  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  After  lying  in  the  open  for 
a  long  time,  he  was  carried  in  by  two  German 
stretcher-bearers  and  for  seven  days  his  wound 
was  not  dressed.  He  was  put  into  a  cattle  car 
which  had  not  been  cleaned  and  without  a  mat- 
tress to  lie  upon.  At  one  station,  a  German  Red 
Cross  doctor,  a  woman,  came  into  the  car  and 
declined  to  dress  his  wound,  because  she  said  it 
smelled  badly,  which  was  doubtless  true,  as  the 
man  had  been  lying  for  days  without  attention. 
He  stated  to  me  that  the  German  Red  Cross 
nurses  showed  the  utmost  neglect  and  contempt 
for  the  wounded  Allied  prisoners;  that  at  one 
depot  where  a  hospital  train  was  standing  on 
the  siding  and  a  troop  train  came  in  bearing 
215 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

perfectly  well  men  going  to  the  front,  the  Ger- 
man Red  Cross  nurses  absolutely  neglected  the 
wounded  men  and  took  care  of  the  well  men 
first.  He  also  stated  that  in  one  hospital  where 
» his  wound  was  being  dressed  without  ether,  the 
German  doctor  several  times  struck  him  on  the 
exposed  sciatic  nerve  to  try  to  make  him  groan 
or  show  signs  of  pain. 

Cornelius  Winant,  of  New  York,  an  escaped 
American  prisoner  in  the  French  service,  told 
me  of  many  abuses  of  which  he  was  an  eye- 
witness. At  the  time  of  his  capture  he  and  his 
comrades  were  marched  long  distances  with- 
out food  and  water,  in  a  nearly  starved  con- 
dition. He  saw  many  Allied  soldiers  in  a 
deplorable  state  working  in  the  zone  of  the 
armies. 

The  German  custom  of  working  prisoners  in 
the  zone  of  the  armies  and  under  shell-fire  from 
their  own  or  Allied  guns  is  so  well  known  that 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  it  here  except 
to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  Germans  had  ex- 
pressly agreed  not  to  do  it,  and  it  was  against 
the  provisions  of  the  Hague  Convention  which 
216 


Abuses 

the  Germans  had  signed.  It  is  certain  that  this 
violation  was  personally  known  to  the  Kaiser 
and  to  Ludendorff.  While  Mr.  Winant  and  his 
fellow  prisoners,  suffering  for  food  and  water, 
were  in  the  zone  of  the  enemy  armies,  the  Kaiser 
and  Ludendorff  actually  drove  by  in  an  auto- 
mobile, saw  them,  but  took  no  interest  in  their 
condition.  In  contrast  to  this,  General  Head- 
quarters of  the  A.E.F.  issued  a  positive  order, 
G.O.  No.  1 06,  that  no  enemy  prisoners  were  to 
be  kept  within  the  forbidden  zone,  and  gave 
very  explicit  instructions  as  to  the  proper  care 
and  protection  of  prisoners  of  war.  While  on 
a  visit  to  General  Headquarters  I  was  present 
when  word  was  received  that  a  few  German  pris- 
oners were  being  employed  within  the  forbidden 
zone,  and  orders  were  issued  to  immediately 
remove  them. 

Mr.  Winant  saw  numerous  cases  of  unneces- 
sary brutality  on  the  part  of  the  German  guards. 
On  one  occasion,  at  the  prison  camp  of  Giessen, 
when  one  of  the  prisoners  failed  to  keep  up  to 
his  position,  without  a  word  of  warning  the  Ger- 
man guard  kicked  him  with  full  force  in  the 
stomach.  The  prisoner  dropped  unconscious  and 

217 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

was  carried  away.  Whether  or  not  he  died  is 
unknown. 

One  of  the  most  brutal  and  inhuman  acts  of 
the  German  officials  was  during  the  typhus  epi- 
demic at  Wittenburg.  The  camp  was  largely 
occupied  by  Russians  at  the  time  and  the  Ger- 
man officials  withdrew  all  medical  attention. 
They  refused  to  supply  the  common  hospital 
necessities,  even  beds  and  bedding.  Dead  and 
dying  lay  on  the  bare  boards  packed  so  near 
together  that  it  was  necessary  to  step  over  the 
prostrate  forms  to  go  from  one  to  another. 
The  meagre  food  was  thrust  into  the  en- 
closure by  means  of  wooden  chutes,  and  the 
dying  men  crowded  out  after  it  like  animals. 
Into  the  midst  of  these  horrors  the  Germans 
sent  perfectly  well  French  and  English  pris- 
oners. It  was  almost  certain  death  among  the 
most  terrible  and  revolting  surroundings,  but 
in  reply  to  protests  the  Germans  said  it  was 
a  good  opportunity  for  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish prisoners  to  get  acquainted  with  their 
allies. 

Then  there  was  the  "schlague."  A  prisoner 
was  stripped,  bent  over  a  chair,  and  held  by 
218 


Abuses 

two  guards  while  a  third  guard  beat  him  with  a 
thick  rubber  strap. 

Remember  always  that  these  things  were 
done  to  soldiers  —  brave,  honorable  men  who, 
due  to  the  fortunes  of  war,  had  become  helpless 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  but  who 
were  assured  of  humane  and  considerate  treat- 
ment under  solemn  written  agreements  made 
both  before  and  during  the  war. 

The  French-German  Accord  of  March  15  and 
May  15,  1918,  expressly  states,  under  Article 
25,  that  enemy  prisoners  of  war  will  be  "  treated 
according  to  the  laws  of  war  as  they  have  been 
fixed  by  international  agreements;  they  will  es- 
pecially be  protected  against  violence,  public 
curiosity,  and  be  treated  with  humanity."  This 
same  article  provided  further  that  "enemy  pris- 
oners will  be,  as  quickly  as  possible,  sent  to  con- 
centration camps  situated  at  least  30  kilometres 
from  the  line  of  fire.  They  will  be  assured  ap- 
propriate housing  and  food.  They  will  not  be 
obliged  to  perform  any  work  applying  directly 
to  the  operations  of  war." 

Under  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  still  in  force,  the 
United  States  of  America  and  the  King  of  Prus- 

219 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

sia  solemnly  pledge  themselves  to  the  world  and 
to  each  other  that  "the  prisoners  of  war  whom 
they  may  take  from  the  other  shall  be  placed  in 
wholesome  situations";  that  they  shall  not  be 
confined ;  that  the  officers  shall  have  comfortable 
quarters  and  the  men  be  disposed  in  canton- 
ments or  barracks  as  roomy  and  good  as  pro- 
vided for  their  own  troops,  and  that  they  shall 
be  allowed  the  same  rations.  "And  it  is  de- 
clared that  neither  the  pretense  that  war  dis- 
solves all  treaties  nor  any  other  whatever  shall 
be  considered  as  annulling  or  suspending  this 
and  the  preceding  articles;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
that  the  state  of  war  is  precisely  that  for  which 
they  are  provided,  and  during  which  they  are 
to  be  sacredly  observed  as  the  most  acknowl- 
edged articles  in  the  law  of  nature  and  nations." 
[. '  Could  anything  be  more  solemnly  or  clearly 
stated? 

Were  French  prisoners  of  war  "treated  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  war  as  fixed  by  inter- 
national agreements  "  ? 

Were  they  "especially  protected  against  vio- 
lence, public  curiosity,  and  treated  with  hu- 
manity"? 

220 


Abuses 

Were  they  "as  quickly  as  possible  sent  to 
concentration  camps  situated  at  least  30  kilo- 
metres from  the  line  of  fire"? 

Were  they  assured  "appropriate  housing  and 
food"? 

Were  they  protected  from  doing  any  work 
"applying  directly  to  the  operations  of  war"? 

Emphatically  no  —  no  one  of  these  agree- 
ments was  kept  by  the  Germans,  and  all  were 
violated  before  this  agreement  was  drawn,  while 
it  was  being  signed,  and  after  it  was  signed. 

As  to  the  solemn  agreement  between  the 
United  States  Government  and  the  King  of 
Prussia  —  were  the  American  prisoners  given 
the  same  rations  as  the  German  Army? 

The  American  prisoners  would  have  starved 
to  death  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  food  parcels 
sent  to  them  through  our  organization  at  Berne. 
The  German  Army  received  the  best  of  every- 
thing in  abundance.  Our  prisoners  were  offered 
spoiled  fish,  —  usually  seal  meat  or  dogfish,  — 
blood  sausages  or  sausages  made  from  the 
entrails  of  animals,  sometimes  horse  meat,  sub- 
stitute coffee,  substitute  mustard,  bread  made 
from  potato  flour,  sawdust,  and  similar  ingredi- 
221 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ents,  —  absolutely  the  worst,  foul-smelling,  ill- 
looking  bread  I  have  ever  seen,  —  bone  meal, 
and  thin,  watery  soups. 

The  condition  of  the  Italian,  Russian,  and 
Roumanian  prisoners  .who  did  not  receive  food 
supplies  from  their  country  of  origin  proves  be- 
yond question  that  the  prison  ration  was  not 
sufficient  to  sustain  life  for  a  prolonged  period, 
and  it  was  of  a  character  that  our  men  abso- 
lutely could  not  eat.  Does  any  one  believe  that 
was  the  ration  provided  for  the  German  troops? 
No  evidence  to  the  contrary  is  necessary.  The 
reports  of  our  neutral  delegates  on  their  inspec- 
tion of  prison  camps  almost  without  exception 
call  attention  to  the  inadequate  and  unwhole- 
some food  supplied  to  prisoners,  and  our  return- 
ing prisoners  have  testified  unanimously  to  the 
fact  that  they  would  have  starved  had  it  not 
been  for  the  food  we  sent  to  them.  I  have  the 
testimony  in  one  telegram  of  2200  American 
prisoners  to  that  effect.  Furthermore,  our  men 
were  not  placed  in  "cantonments  or  barracks 
as  roomy  and  good"  as  provided  for  the  Ger- 
man troops.  Some  of  the  camps  were  better 
than  others  and  the  conditions  were  fairly  good; 

222 


Abuses 

other  camps  were  filthy  and  miserable  to  an  ex- 
treme degree,  without  adequate  sleeping,  bath- 
ing, toilet,  cooking,  or  hospital  facilities;  and  the 
men  were  subjected  to  petty  annoyances  and 
abuses.  ,  . 

The  A.E.F.  scrupulously  respected  its  agree- 
ment under  the  Prussian  Treaty  and  all  pro- 
visions of  international  law,  and  although  we 
were  not  parties  to  the  Hague  Convention,  the 
A.E.F.  observed  all  of  its  provisions  as  to  the 
treatment  of  prisoners.  I  personally  visited  the 
German  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  A.E.F. 
and  can  vouch  for  the  fact  that  they  received  • 
the  same  rations  as  the  American  soldiers,  that 
they  were  comfortably  and  well  housed,  and 
exceedingly  well  treated.  I  have  seen  German 
officers  in  our  hospitals  side  by  side  with  our 
own  wounded,  with  the  same  medical  attention 
and  comforts.  I  personally  asked  a  wounded 
Prussian  officer  what  complaint  he  had  to  make, 
and  his  reply  was,  "My  treatment  leaves  noth- 
ing to  be  desired." 

General  Order  No.  106  issued  by  General  Me-    / 
Andrews,  Chief  of  Staff  to  General  Pershing,  / 
provided  specifically  for  the  treatment  and  com-  '\ 

\ 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

fort  of  enemy  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the 
A.E.F.  This  order  stated  among  other  things  the 
following: 

The  law  of  nature  and  of  nations  will  be  sa- 
credly heeded  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of 
war.  They  will  be  accorded  every  consideration 
dictated  by  the  principles  of  humanity.  The  be- 
havior of  a  generous  and  chivalrous  people  to- 
ward enemy  prisoners  of  war  will  be  punctili- 
ously observed.  In  strict  compliance  with  the 
Hague  Convention,  prisoners  of  war  will  be  re- 
strained within  fixed  limits,  but  they  will  not  be 
confined  except  as  an  indispensable  measure  of 
safety,  and  then  only  while  the  circumstances 
which  necessitate  the  measure  continue  to  exist; 
they  will  not  be  kept  or  employed  within  range 
of  their  own  fire;  they  will  be  treated  as  regards 
food,  lodging,  and  clothing  on  the  same  footing  as 
the  troops  of  the  American  Army;  their  personal 
belongings,  including  medals  and  identity  discs, 
and  excepting  arms,  horses  and  military  papers, 
will  remain  their  property,  and  the  acceptance  of 
gifts  from  prisoners  as  well  as  the  appropriation 
of  articles  which  have  belonged  to  the  enemy's 
dead  are  strictly  prohibited.  They  may  receive 
presents  and  relief  in  kind,  and  despatch  and  re- 
ceive correspondence,  subject  only  to  proper  sur- 
veillance and  censorship;  they  shall  enjoy  liberty 
224 


Abuses 

in  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  they  will  be 
permitted  to  execute  wills  which  will  be  preserved 
for  transmission  to  the  proper  parties  in  interest. 

All  these  provisions  were  observed  by  the 
American  officers,  and  the  German  prisoners 
were  so  well  treated  and  contented  that  I  am 
informed  that  not  a  single  attempt  was  made 
to  escape.  The  conditions  in  the  German  camps 
were  so  bad,  however,  that  our  men  repeatedly 
risked  their  lives  to  escape  and  return  to  their 
own  lines. 


Chapter  XIII 

CONCLUSION 

WHEN  the  armistice  was  signed  approximately 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  American  prisoners 
were  in  camps  close  to  the  Rhine  and  near  the 
zone  proposed  to  be  occupied  by  the  Allied  ar- 
mies. It  appeared  best,  therefore,  to  have  these 
prisoners  return  by  way  of  northern  France. 
About  four  hundred  came  out  that  way  and  I 
went  to  France  and  met  the  first  prisoners 
to  return,  among  them  men  who  were  at  the 
head  of  our  camp  help  committees.  They  stated 
that  they  had  ample  food  and  clothing,  and  were 
able  to  give  considerable  amounts  of  food  to 
the  starving  Italians  before  leaving. 

CorporalMeehan,of  our  camp  help  committee 
atKarlsruhe,  stated  that  after  having  given  each 
American  enough  food  to  provide  for  his  return, 
he  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  boxes  left  (one 
and  one-half  tons)  which  he  gave  to  the  Italians. 
The  returning  American  prisoners  appeared 
well  fed  and  well  clothed  and  were  in  good  con- 
226 


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Conclusion 

dition.  As  they  were  becoming  badly  scattered, 
however,  General  Headquarters  decided  it  would 
be  better  to  have  them  return  in  large  groups  by 
way  of  Switzerland. 

Mr.  Ralph  Stewart,  of  Brookline,  Massachu- 
setts, was  at  the  head  of  this  repatriation  work 
for  the  American  Red  Cross,  and  under  his  di- 
rection the  American  prisoners  were  promptly 
and  comfortably  returned  to  France.  He  was 
assisted  by  Mr.  Ralph  Bailey,  of  Taunton, 
Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  Leon  G.  Levy,  of  San 
Francisco.  All  of  these  men  went  into  Germany 
and  personally  attended  to  the  return  of  the 
prisoners  by  organizing  train  service  and  auto- 
mobile service,  negotiating  with  the  German 
officials  and  seeing  that  the  needs  of  the  prison- 
ers were  filled.  Canteens  were  established  at 
Zurich,  Berne,  Lausanne,  and  Geneva  to  pro- 
vide the  prisoners  with  food  and  hot  drinks,  and 
each  prisoner  was  given  three  days'  rations  to 
provide  for  him  until  he  reached  the  concen- 
tration camp  in  France. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Husband,  of  our  Red  Cross  Staff, 
went  to  Berlin  at  once.  Later  Mr.  Ralph  Bailey 
succeeded  him.  Mr.  Levy  went  to  Rastatt,  the 
227 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

principal  camp  for  Americans,  and  arranged  for 
their  removal.  Mr.  Alfred  Ney,  a  Swiss,  well 
acquainted  with  the  German  camps,  was  sent 
in  to  look  after  the  sick  and  wounded.  Dr. 
Ceresole,  an  eminent  Swiss  doctor,  went  into 
the  southern  German  camps  on  behalf  of  our 
prisoners.  Several  hundred  of  our  men  were 
scattered  among  the  camps  in  northern  Ger- 
many, in  which  there  were  large  numbers  of 
English  prisoners.  I  found  that  the  English 
Government  was  to  send  special  steamers  to 
northern  German  ports  to  take  their  men  to 
England.  So  I  hastened  to  London  and  made 
arrangements  for  our  prisoners  in  these  north- 
ern camps  to  be  brought  out  on  the  English 
ships.  As  the  men  returned  they  were  con- 
centrated principally  at  Vichy,  where  they  were 
given  every  attention  by  the  American  Red 
Cross. 

The  American  prisoners  in  Germany  were  not 
subject  to  any  systematic  or  authorized  phys- 
ical abuse.  Their  clothing  and  personal  effects 
were  stolen  and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  they 
would  have  starved  and  suffered  for  proper 
clothing,  had  it  not  been  for  the  relief  pack- 

228 


Conclusion 

ages  sent  from  Berne,  but  they  were  not  phys- 
ically abused,  except  in  rare  instances. 

There  were  good  reasons  for  this.  We  always 
had  in  America  more  German  agents  in  prison 
or  internment  camps  than  the  total  of  all  Amer- 
ican prisoners,  civil  and  military,  in  the  hands 
of  the  Germans,  and  among  these  civilian 
prisoners  were  men  who  were  held  in  the  high- 
est esteem  and  friendship  by  the  leaders  of  the 
Prussian  military  party. 

The  American  Expeditionary  Forces,  further- 
more, after  June  30,  always  had  a  large  balance 
of  German  prisoners  over  the  total  American 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  German  military 
forces.  The  United  States  Government  showed 
its  determination  to  look  after  its  prisoners, 
watch  their  treatment,  see  that  they  were  well 
fed  and  well  clothed.  All  these  things  had  their 
effect  upon  the  German  mind.  While  never  con- 
templated for  that  purpose,  it  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  the  food  and  clothing  parcels  sent  to 
American  prisoners  constituted  the  best  possi- 
ble propaganda. 

The  German  population  had  been  systemati- 
cally educated  to  believe  that  an  American  army 

229 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

of  any  size  could  not  possibly  be  sent  to  France, 
and  that  even  if  such  an  army  was  sent,  it  would 
be  physically  impossible  to  transport  the  neces- 
sary food,  clothing,  and  other  supplies.  And  yet 
here  were  the  American  prisoners,  scattered  all 
over  Germany,  receiving  from  America  twenty 
pounds  per  week  of  better  food  than  the  Ger- 
man population  had  seen  for  two  years,  and  bet- 
ter clothing. 

The  effect  was  irresistible  and  spread  all  over 
Germany.  It  became  a  source  of  embarrassment 
to  the  German  officials,  and  we  were  even  told 
that  we  were  sending  more  supplies  than  neces- 
sary and  asked  to  reduce  the  quantity.  We  were 
informed  officially  that  the  prisoners  received 
so  much  food  that  they  were  using  their  canned 
vegetables  to  play  "pass-ball"  with.  Of  course 
using  a  can  of  corn  to  toss  around  in  a  circle 
instead  of  a  ball  did  n't  hurt  the  contents  any, 
but  it  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  Ger- 
mans to  see  good  food  used  in  such  an  apparently 
reckless  manner. 

Because  the  American  prisoners  were  sent 
food,  clothing,  and  toilet  articles  to  enable  them 
to  maintain  their  health  and  self-respect  they 

230 


Conclusion 

were  respected  by  the  Germans.  On  the  con- 
trary, Italian  and  Russian  prisoners  who  re- 
ceived no  relief  supplies,  and  were  starved  and 
in  rags  as  a  consequence,  were  treated  like  dogs. 
If  the  state  of  origin  of  a  prisoner  neglected  him, 
the  Germans  felt  safe  to  indulge  in  every  brutal- 
ity, but  if  the  prisoner  was  respected,  cared  for, 
and  watched  by  his  own  country,  that  produced 
a  most  beneficial  effect  upon  the  German  mili- 
tary authorities  and  guards,  especially  the  last 
year  of  the  war,  when  they  discovered  that  their 
brutality  and  reprisal  camps  were  not  spreading 
among  the  Allies  the  terror  upon  which  they 
had  counted,  but  on  the  contrary  were  making 
them  fight  harder  and  better  to  keep  from  be- 
ing captured. 

Nothing  contained  in  this  book  should  lead 
the  reader  to  believe  that  prisoners  were  well 
treated  in  German  prison  camps,  for  they  were 
not.  There  were  thousands  of  abuses  and  physi- 
cal tortures,  but  happily  the  American  prisoners 
escaped  practically  all  of  these. 

Starvation  and  suffering  were  prevented 
solely  by  the  relief  supplies  sent  to  the  prison- 
ers from  the  outside,  and  all  the  facilities  for 
231 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

recreation,  exercise,  amusement,  and  education 
were  also  supplied  from  other  than  German 
sources. 

The  Germans  simply  let  them  eat  the  food  and 
wear  the  clothing  which  was  sent  in  and  which 
was  some  economic  advantage  to  Germany. 
The  camp  commanders  only  permitted  the  pris- 
oners to  use  the  books,  athletic  goods,  musical 
instruments,  and  theatrical  paraphernalia  sent 
from  the  outside.  They  did  not  furnish  them, 
and  they  could  not  well  deny  the  use  of  them 
so  long  as  it  did  not  interfere  with  the  camp 
routine. 

The  German  officials  were  always  evasive, 
tricky,  and  full  of  deception.  If  they  could  lie 
out  of  an  abuse  or  a  bad  situation  they  usually 
did  so.  They  had  little  or  no  regard  for  treaties 
or  agreements  and  violated  them  without  hesi- 
tation. They  did  have  some  hesitation  about 
outraging  the  feelings  of  what  few  neutrals  were 
left  in  the  world,  after  America  entered  the  war, 
and  would  sometimes  back  down  from  viola- 
tions of  agreements  when  representatives  of 
neutral  governments  took  an  active  part  in 
protesting. 

232 


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Conclusion 

The  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war  in  German 
prison  camps  goes  hand  in  hand  down  the  Ger- 
man path  of  terrorism  with  the  asphyxiating 
gases,  the  incendiary  bombs,  the  poisoned  wells, 
the  killing  of  innocent  civilians,  and  can  all  be 
traced  to  the  German  teachings,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  Germans  that  they  could  not  be 
beaten  and  held  responsible  for  their  crimes. 

Ferdinand  Larnande,  Dean  of  the  Paris  Law 
Faculty,  and  Dr.  A.  G.  De  Lapradelle,  Profes- 
sor of  the  Rights  of  Nations  in  the  same  fac- 
ulty, in  a  recent  report  to  Premier  Clemenceau, 
quote  a  letter  from  the  former  German  Emperor 
to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  in  the  early  days  of 
the  war,  in  which  the  German  Emperor  wrote: 

"My  soul  is  torn  asunder,  but  everything 
must  be  put  to  fire  and  blood.  The  throats  of 
men  and  women,  children  and  the  aged  must 
be  cut,  and  not  a  tree  or  a  house  left  standing. 
With  such  methods  of  terror,  which  alone  can 
strike  so  degenerate  a  people  as  the  French,  the 
war  will  finish  before  two  months,  while  if  I 
use  humanitarian  methods,  it  may  prolong  for 
years.  Despite  all  my  repugnance,  I  have  had 
to  choose  the  first  system." 

233 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

A  recent  German  book,  "Der  deutsche  Ge- 
danke,"  reflects  the  opinions  of  the  intelligent 
classes.  The  leaders  of  German  thought  express 
themselves  as  follows: 

The  German  people  are  always  right  because 
they  are  the  German  people  and  number  eighty- 
seven  millions.  —  O.  R.  Tannenberg. 

Germany  is  the  future  of  the  human  race.  — 
M.  Lehmann. 

Everything  that  has  been  accomplished  in  the 
domain  of  art  in  France  and  Italy  since  the  Ro- 
man period  is  due  to  the  mixture  of  German 
blood  and  to  men  who  have  preserved  in  their 
purity  the  blood  and  customs  of  the  Germans.  — 
H.  A.  Schmid,  Professor  at  the  University  of 
Gottingen. 

One  of  our  cultured  warriors,  falling  in  masses 
at  the  present  time,  has  an  intellectual  and  moral 
value  superior  to  hundreds  of  rough  and  primitive 
men  (rohe  Naturmenschen)  sent  against  us  by 
England,  France,  Russia,  and  Italy.  —  Professor 
E.  Haeckel. 

The  deepest  mark  of  the  German  character 
is  a  passionate  love,  pushed  to  the  extreme,  of 
right,  justice,  and  morality.  A  character  which  is 
not  found  among  other  races.  —  M.  Lehmann. 

Freedom  which  would  not  be  German  would 
not  be  freedom.  —  N.  S.  Chamberlain. 

.  234 


Conclusion 

Our  enemies  have  not  been  honest  towards  us: 
we  should  therefore,  in  justice,  withdraw  civic 
rights  from  them  (die  biirgerlichen  Ehrenrechte). 
When  enemy  states  no  longer  have  the  right  to 
bear  arms,  they  will  not  seek  to  quarrel  with  us. 
—  O.  Siemens. 

Until  the  end  of  history  right  will  rest  with 
arms,  and  therein  consists  the  holiness  of  war.  — 
H.  von  Treitschke. 

Heaven  preserve  Germany  from  seeing  a  du- 
rable peace  come  out  of  this  war.  —  O.  A.  H. 
Schmitz. 

War  favors  the  capable  to  the  detriment  of  the 
degenerate.  It  is  the  source  of  all  progress  and 
without  it  the  development  of  nations  would  be 
impossible.  —  K.  Wagner. 

Laugh,  my  Germany,  that  you  have  been  rec- 
ognized as  the  successor  of  your  ancestors.  Does 
not  your  heart  swell  with  pride  when  you  strike 
your  good  sword  and  say, "  Barbarian,  Present!"  ? 
Be  sincere,  Germany,  you  have  never  been  able 
to  bind  yourself  to  culture;  such  clothing  is  not 
for  your  figure,  it  would  disfigure  you.  Put  on  the 
wolfs  clothing;  it  was  thus  that  your  ancestor,  O 
Field-Gray  Warrior,  opposed  the  invasion  of  the 
stranger  in  the  forests  and  swamps.  Barbarian! 
Should  we  blush  at  this  term  which  has  such  a 
splendid  tone,  so  antique,  so  solemn?  Are  we  go- 

235 


Prisoners  of  the  Great  War 

ing  to  tremble  when  the  sacred  name  of  our  fa- 
ther is  shouted  in  our  ears  ?  Are  we  going  to  pro- 
test? Hail  to  the  day  when  the  world  will  be  in- 
undated in  the  barbarian  manner;  then  will  the 
atmosphere  be  pure  as  the  breath  of  the  woods  and 
the  life  of  the  nations  clear  as  spring  water.  — 
Augustus  Supper. 

This  is  what  is  taught  by  the  great  directors 
of  public  opinion.  After  these  maxims  of  the 
German  intellectuals  and  their  frightful  conse- 
quences, we  understand  better  these  lines  by  Dr. 
Muehlon,  formerly  director  of  the  Krupp  Works, 
and  himself  a  German: 

Prussia  will  steal  all  she  can  in  order  to  pre- 
serve it.  She  will  only  restitute  that  which  she 
does  not  care  about,  and  even  that  at  the  expense 
of  others.  She  will  never  take  her  foot  from  the 
neck  of  the  conquered.  She  will  force  all  foreign 
civilizations  to  honor  the  barbarian.  She  believes 
only  in  brute  force  both  in  the  interior  and  ex- 
terior. She  recognizes  no  other  power  than  force. 


THE  END 


fltoertfbe 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .  S   .   A 


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DUE  NRLF    NOV6    1987 


JUN    21990 


;    1990 
0  tt 


W 


UHW.OF  CALIF.,  BERK. 


FEB35190T 


-T- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


